The Columbia Chronicle January 24, 2011

Capital punishment in Illinois is on death row

xx PAGE 34

Web-Exclusive Video Windy City Rollers take to the track The official news source of Columbia College Chicago

January 24, 2011

Past, present bound together

www.ColumbiaChronicle.com

Volume 46, Issue 16

Pictorial history of college to join long list of institutional history series

by Shardae Smith Assistant Campus Editor A 200-FOOT-LONG library exhibit from 2007

that chronicled Columbia’s history led two school administrators to create a pictorial book on the college’s past.

Conrad Winke, associate dean of the Library and Academic Research, approached Heidi Marshall, head of College Archives and Digital Collections for the Columbia Library, with the idea of creating a book after he saw the Columbiathemed timeline she created.

Winke then came up with the idea to spin Marshall’s work and create a pictorial history of the college. The book will also feature caption-like text.

Marshall, whose role at the college is to preserve its history, said the book’s purpose is to give readers an idea of where Columbia came from.

“It’s a fascinating history,” Marshall said. “Archives aren’t supposed to be the only place that [have] pictures and history. I want everybody to see some of the pictures from our past.”

The book will be published through Arcadia Publishing’s Campus History

series and will be available for purchase on March 21.

“It’s the first time the college’s history has been researched and documented,” Winke said. “I’m hoping it will put to bed common misconceptions [about the college].”

Winke and Marshall said a one such misconception people have is that the college started as a school for women, but the school has been co-educational since its inception.

Columbia was founded in 1890 as the Columbia School of Oratory and began to focus on the growing fields of radio, television and other communication outlets in the 1930s, according to the book’s description on the Arcadia Publishing website.

Junior arts, entertainment and media management major Allie Smith said if the history book is affordable, she will consider purchasing it.

“It would be a nice book to have to see the history of the college, especially if it [were] a picture book. That would be cool,” Smith said. “[I would like to see] famous people who have gone to Columbia and made a name for themselves after graduating.”

According to Marshall the book has been a great experience for her. She said not all xx SEE BOOK, PG. 10

Health care repeal costs students Individuals 18–26 stand to lose much if legislation moves forward

Photo illustration Jonathan Allen THE CHRONICLE

Columbia occupied the 7th floor of the 618 S. Michigan Ave. Building from 1927 to 1937. The college bought the building in 2005.

Health & Fitness

» PG. 19

Finding your Zen

Arts & Culture

» PG. 22

An important piece of the Affordable Care Act for young adults came with the gave them the ability to stay covered

by Heather McGraw under their parents’ policy until age 26.

Assistant Metro Editor However, students living in Illinois will not lose the privilege if the federal law is YOUNG ADULTS who repealed. recently gained the “In Illinois we opportunity to obtain actually passed health insurance cova state law that If the federal law is repealed, allows young people erage under their parent’s policy may have we’ve still got state law protec- to stay on their cause for concern. parents’ insurtions.”

A repeal of the -Brian Imus ance until they’re Affordable Care Act, 26,” said Brian President Obama’s signature legisla- Imus, director of Illinois Public Intertion to reform U.S. health care, passed est Research Groups. “If the federal through the House of Representatives law is repealed, we’ve still got state on Jan. 19 and will now move on to law protections.” the Senate.

Although Illinois used to be considered Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care the “Wild West” of regulating big health Law Act as the Republican sponsored bill insurance companies, according to Imus, called it, passed with a vote of 245-189. the state is slowly starting to move toward All House Republicans voted for repeal putting more consumer protections into along with three democrats—Dan Boren, place—something federal health care D-Okla., Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., and Mike Ross, (D-Ark.) xx SEE REPEAL, PG. 40

Metro

» PG. 37

INDEX Campus 2

Street photographer celebrated

H&F 13 A&C 21

Burge sentence handed down

Commentary 34 Metro 37

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

EDITOR’S NOTE

Learning growth stunted in college L AST WINTER I thought it was ridiculous when my dad became upset after finding out I don’t write in cursive anymore. I told him it was because teachers haven’t

by Spencer Roush asked me to write Editor-in-Chief in cursive since I was practicing it in third grade on the big brown paper with red and blue lines. He scoffed at my response and questioned what students are learning nowadays, showing his age, but using more reason and logic than I was willing to accept at the time.

A year has passed and I’m beginning to agree, especially after recent findings.

A new book titled “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses,” released on Jan. 18, is about a study conducted by two college professors. The findings show receiving a undergraduate degree isn’t advancing all young minds as intended.

Their research started in fall 2005 observed standardized test scores from more than 2,000 students across 24 four-year colleges with results showing higher education failed to advance some students’ writing and reasoning skills.

More than a third of college seniors showed no progress in those areas since freshman year, making their education and time spent in classrooms questionable.

The authors said educational institutions need to challenge students more with writing and reading-intensive classes to change this downward spiral. The turn away from basic teachings may be because of technology’s expansion in our lives and

how students learn.

Yes, students will complain about the extra work to change this negative educational course, but that’s better than wasting money for a signed piece of paper claiming they’ve learned something.

Of course there are critics of this study who say the results may have changed if more questions would have been asked. It’s also possible that distributing an essay test three times during a student’s college career won’t accurately measure one’s ability.

Either way, I’m sure this new information thrills professors and financiallystrapped parents to bits.

While this revelation is quite disheartening, the combination of technology and institutions’ lack of challenging young minds can and should be changed.

It’s interesting to see how technology shapes students’ learning process and how educators manipulated old methods to fit their needs. It may take time to figure out the right formula to teach young generations immersed in a world where encyclopedia volumes are superfluous and writing complete sentences outside of an essay paper are improbable.

Education has changed and I suppose all isn’t lost if young people prefer to search for topics online or print letters rather than script them in cursive, but it’s more than that. Students are not progressing as they should or forget lessons altogether.

The truth is I forgot how to form some cursive letters and my writing has transformed into a cursive-print hybrid. I’ll chalk that up to limited time and a muddled mind, but it’s actually because teachers didn’t demand it from me and that’s what young people need, along with their own ambitions.

For more on the study, turn to page 7. sroush@chroniclemail.com

NEWS FLASH

If you’re a full-time student, don’t forget to pick up your U-Pass for unlimited rides on the Chicago Transit Authority. Be sure to bring your Campus Card and current class schedule. U-Pass distribution is Jan. 24–25 from 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

1104 Center 1104 S. Wabash Ave., 1st floor

1/25/11 Weeks of Welcome: Help Wanted Looking for on-campus employment opportunities? Visit the Quincy Wong Center for Artistic Expression to find and apply for the jobs available to Columbia students and learn about the upcoming job fair on April 7. The informational session is from noon to 1 p.m.

Quincy Wong Center for Artistic Expression Wabash Campus Building, 623 S. Wabash Ave., 1st floor

1/28/11 The DJ PJ Party Come show off your favorite jammies with fellow students at a party hosted by Student Engagement. The party is from 8 p.m.–midnight.

Stage Two 618 S. Michigan Ave. Building, 2nd floor

NEWS FLASH “Are you going to approach your workload differently this semester?”

Travelle Turner freshman arts, entertainment and media management major

STAFF Management

Photo

Spencer Roush Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Saviola Managing Editor Benita Zepeda Managing Editor

Brent Lewis Senior Photo Editor Brock Brake Photo Editor Tiela Halpin Photo Editor

Campus

Assistant Editors

Sam Charles Assistant Campus Editor Amanda Murphy Assistant Campus Editor Shardae Smith Assistant Campus Editor

Graphics

Arts & Culture Mina Bloom Arts & Culture Editor Matt Watson Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Brianna Wellen Assistant Arts & Culture Editor

Metro Darryl Holliday Metro Editor Kristen Franzen Assistant Metro Editor Heather McGraw Assistant Metro Editor

Commentary Luke Wilusz Commentary Editor

Copy

Multimedia/Web Bethany Reinhart Interactive/Outreach Editor Cristina Aguirre Multimedia Editor Marco Rosas Assistant Multimedia Editor Chris Cummings Webmaster

“Last semester I kind of alienated myself from my peers. I’m going to try to reach out more.”

Lizette Garza junior arts, entertainment and media management major “I’m a lot more involved this semester. I have an internship I’m very focused on and I’m working at Columbia’s record label.”

Kara Moore junior American sign language-English interpretation major “I just got back from studying in Washington, D.C. where my classes were in sign language, so it’s going to be different having to study in English. I’ll be practicing that more.”

Clarifications from the Dec. 13 issue In an article titled “LAS faculty gets new ranking,” we failed to mention that along with school of Liberal

Advertising

Arts and Sciences, the School of Fine and Performing arts as well as the School of Media Arts also

Ren Lahvic Advertising & Business Manager Andrew Billmyer Advertising Account Executive

and each school put the system into practice simultaneously.

Jackson Thomas Copy Chief Meghan Keyes Copy Editor Amber Meade Copy Editor

Operations

Health & Fitness

Senior Staff

Allyson Abelman Operations Manager Drew Hunt Operations Manager

Etheria Modacure Assistant Health & Fitness Editor Chris Richert General Manager Katy Nielsen Assistant Health & Fitness Editor Jeff Lyon Faculty Adviser

implemented a new faculty rank system for its instructors. The rank system was a college-wide initiative

The article titled “Monstrous staff cuts at Field Museum” incorrectly stated that the Field was in its second year of recovery when it is actually in the first year of the financial recovery plan. We also falsely identified Elizabeth Crownover as the Interim Head of Education. Her official title is the Director of Education. It was also acknowledged that 88 museum employees left since 2007 before the most recent series of cuts, not 88 staff members in 2007 alone. The article also implied there were multiple Harris Loan Center employees, when there was only one. We apologize for these errors.

The Chronicle is a student-produced publication of Columbia College Chicago and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of college administrators, faculty or students.

Views expressed in this publication are those of the writer and are not the opinions of The Chronicle, Columbia’s Journalism Department or Columbia College Chicago.

The Chronicle 33 E. Congress Parkway, Suite 224 Chicago, IL. 60605-1996

All text, photos and graphics are the property of The Chronicle and may not be reproduced or published without written permission.

Letters to the editor must include full name, year, major and phone number. All letters are edited for grammar and may be cut due to a limit of space.The Chronicle holds the right to limit any one person’s submissions to three per semester.

Letters can be faxed to (312) 369-8430, e-mailed to Chronicle@colum.edu or mailed to The Chronicle, 33 E. Congress Parkway, Suite 224 Chicago, IL. 60605-1996.

Main line: (312) 369-8999 Advertising: (312) 369-8984 Newsroom Fax: (312) 369-8430 www.columbiachronicle.com

Editorials are the opinions of the Editorial Board of The Chronicle.

Columns are the opinions of the author(s).

“I’m going to study harder and make sure I spend more time in my books.”

Jeremiah Thomas freshman arts, entertainment, and media management major

Meghan Gray Assistant Beat Editor

Jonathan Allen Senior Graphic Designer Edward Kang Graphic Designer Ying Kau Graphic Designer Zach Stemerick Graphic Designer

1/24/11

U-Pass distribution

Campus: (312) 369-8964 Metro: (312) 369-8963 Arts & Culture: (312) 369-8969 Commentary: (312) 369-8981 Copy: (312) 369-8925 Photo: (312) 369-8976 Health & Fitness: (312) 369-8982 Permission/Reproductions: (312) 369-8955 General Manager: (312) 369-8955 Faculty Adviser: (312) 369-8903

CAMPUS I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

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Patricia Heath chosen as interim CFO Search for permanent replacement expected to last until summer

by Sam Charles Assistant Campus Editor AFTER COLUMBIA’S former Chief Financial

Officer and Vice President of Business Affairs Michael DeSalle stepped down from the position he held for 22 years at the end of the fall 2010 semester, the college acted within a week to find someone to fill the vacancy. Patricia Heath, a principal partner at the executive services firm Tatum, was named interim CFO and vice president of Business Affairs until the assigned committee finds a permanent replacement.

Before coming to Columbia, Heath held the same interim position at St. Xavier University, Illinois’ oldest university, located on Chicago’s Southwest Side. Though every institution and organization is different, Heath said what she learned during her 10 months at SXU will help her at Columbia.

“It was an interesting situation,” Heath said. “I hit the ground running and learned a lot about being involved in higher education.”

Tatum is a national company that specializes in filling vacant corporate positions, specifically CFO, CEO and Chief Operating Officer. Currently,Tatum has 37 offices nationwide and employs 1,000 partners.

Heath’s responsibilities at Columbia will not be as rigorous as the ones she had while at SXU, she said.

“At St. Xavier, budgeting, accounting finance, tax pension, employee services and payroll—which is basically human resources—[was] reported directly to me,” Heath said. “I had all of Operations: traffic,

Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

Patricia Heath was named Michael DeSalle’s replacement as Columbia’s CFO after he stepped down from his position of 22 years. Before accepting the position at Columbia, Heath was the CFO at St. Xavier University.

security, transportation for their multiple campuses, but here, HR reports directly to the provost.”

Currently, a search for the permanent CFO is beginning. There is nothing in Heath’s contract that would prevent her from filling the position permanently.

Columbia reached out to Tatum when

DeSalle stepped down, asking the company for assistance in filling the vacancy. After reviewing possible candidates, Tatum contacted Heath and set up a meeting between her, Columbia President Warrick L. Carter and Allen Turner, chairman of the board of trustees.

She was also the corporate controller for

The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division, which includes all of Illinois and parts of Indiana and Michigan. During her three and a half years with the nonprofit company she centralized all operations in Illinois.

Heath’s professional career began in xx SEE HEATH, PG. 9

Faculty member named Fulbright chapter president Professor aims to improve global study

by Amanda Murphy Assistant Campus Editor ELIO LETURIA, assistant professor in Colum-

bia’s Journalism Department, is replacing Monica Swope as the president of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.

The first introduction Leturia, a Peru native, had with Fulbright was in 1990 when he was awarded a scholarship through the organization to receive his master’s degree in journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Fulbright is an organization that works with the Department of State and the Institute of International Education to award scholars and students financial support to allow them to study abroad.

“The students come from other parts of the world and they learn this culture and then go back to their countries of origin, and they take that experience with them,” Leturia said.

He said he had not thought about being president until a few board members suggested the idea. He was nominated and won the election in December 2010.

Courtesy ELIO LETURIA

From left: Joseph Graff, Elio Leturia, Cristina Sisson at the Museum of Science and Industry, where Leturia was named president of Fulbright’s Chicago Chapter.

Leturia said he was first asked to become a board member of the Fulbright Chicago Chapter in 2007. As a board member, Leturia, 50, was also the director of communications. According to Ana Gil-Garcia, a former Fulbright president, he was helpful with the communications aspect of the chapter.

“[Leturia] has been very influential in disseminating and creating new ways for us to communicate with the city,” Gil-Garcia said.

Leturia said his new responsibilities as president focus on the creation and organization of the 2011 Fulbright events.These

events cater to board members and students currently studying in the Chicago Chapter, which includes northern Illinois, as well as Indiana and Wisconsin.

According to Leturia, these dinners and get-togethers are ways to bring the Fulbright community together. The events throughout the year reflect on a variety of different ethnicities and heritages.

He said in these cases, the students from all across the world are brought together with a chance to exchange stories and the cultures.

“It’s a very enriching experience because you get to learn a lot from other people,” Leturia said.

Gil-Garcia, who was named one of the 100 Most Influential Latinos in the U.S. by Hispanic Business Magazine, invited Leturia to be a member of the board after he helped the Chicago chapter with a newsletter. She said she considers herself a mentor to Leturia and is delighted with his success in the Chicago chapter.

“I’m really happy Elio has developed so well during all these years and has become the president of the chapter,” Gil-Garcia said.

Once Leturia finished his master’s degree xx SEE FULBRIGHT, PG. 9

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

DeSalle resigns as CFO to teach within college Columbia executive steps down after holding position for 22 years

by Amanda Murphy Assistant Campus Editor WALKING AROUND Columbia’s campus it is

hard to imagine what the college might have looked like more than 20 years ago, with the number of campus buildings so few they could be counted on one hand.

The area was filled with empty, decaying buildings amid an abandoned railroad yard.

This was the South Loop Michael DeSalle came to when he first took the chief financial officer position at Columbia in 1989.

DeSalle, who has a background in accounting and finance, said he came to the college with aspirations of having the small arts college continue its expansion.

The South Loop and Columbia’s campus have changed their face since 1989, a vision achieved during DeSalle’s 22 years as CFO. DeSalle said his reason for leaving the position is to teach.

“I had in my contract the option of teaching, and I just felt that after 22 years it was time to move on into something a little different,” DeSalle said.

Before he returns to Columbia in fall 2011 he will be taking a short break.

“I am very delighted, pleased and blessed to be able to take a sabbatical,” DeSalle said.

DeSalle, 58, was Columbia’s third CFO and followed in John Schiebel’s footsteps.

Schiebel was vice president of finance for approximately 13 years before retiring in

1989. In that year, Columbia had approximately 6,500 students and consisted of four buildings. The college’s total assets were roughly $40 million with a $5.7 million endowment fund.

Columbia’s current student population has nearly doubled with 12,500 students.

The college’s total assets are nine times greater with a total of $360 million. Additionally, the campus now owns 22 buildings.

According to DeSalle, the help of three presidents, faculty and staff guided the college to reach the financial health and stability it has now.

We are delighted to have [DeSalle] coming to the department. He has an extensive experience as a management professional and as a teacher.”

-Philippe Ravanas

He said he is truly proud of the staff who helped him create what Columbia is today.

“There are a lot of really good people [who] have worked very hard on behalf of the college in all areas,” DeSalle said.

Although he is leaving the CFO position, his contributions to Columbia will continue in a different area of the college. He said when he returns to the institution in fall 2011, he will teach in the Arts, Entertainment and Media Management Department.

Previously, DeSalle said he taught a finance

to the department,” Ravanas said. “He has an extensive experience as a management professional and as a teacher. He has taught in the department in the past and with great success.”

There are a lot of really good people [who] have worked very hard on behalf of the college in all areas.”

-Michael DeSalle

Courtesy ANDREAS LARSSEN

course for six years in the AEMM graduate program in the 1990s, but the obligations of being CFO forced him to stop teaching.

According to DeSalle, he will most likely teach management, finance and accounting classes, but the specifics have not been decided yet.

Before he came to Columbia, he held accounting and financial positions at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the now closed Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, DeSalle said.

According to Philippe Ravanas, chair of the AEMM Department, DeSalle will be a great addition to the faculty.

“We are delighted to have [DeSalle] coming

Patricia Heath has been appointed interim CFO and vice president of Business Affairs while a successor to DeSalle is chosen.

For Steve Kapelke, provost and senior vice president of Columbia, the sentiment behind DeSalle is one of loss and excitement for what lies next.

“He’s not really leaving the college, and I think it’s important to realize and focus on that,” Kapelke said.

DeSalle said he delights in of what the college has achieved during his time as CFO and hopes the college maintains its climb toward being a prominent, nationally recognized college.

“I am very proud of Columbia and what it has accomplished,” DeSalle said. “I’d only like to see Columbia continue to grow and prosper.” amurphy@chroniclemail.com

CAMPUS

THE COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL FOR EVERYONE

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JANUARY 24, 2011

I

THE CHRONICLE

5

COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO

FOR EVERYONE

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THE COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL

Winter Carnival

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PRICING & SCHE FALL 2010

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Sherwood’s Annual Winter OPEn HOuSE January 29, 2011 9:00am–2:00pm

Open House is FREE of charge!

Free Class Demonstrations Prize Drawings Give Aways Performances

Free Face Painting Free Food Vendor Carnival

rock out

THE COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL at COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO

in yo ur PA JA M AS !

Special Children’s Concert Featuring Sherwood Early Childhood Faculty $10 Parents, $5 Kids

at Sherwood’s 1st Annual PaJammin’ Concert Join Sherwood’s Early Childhood faculty

DATE: Saturday, January 29, 2011

as they perform original songs during this rip-roaring, fun-tastic music concert!

Children are encouraged to come in their pajamas!

TI ME: 3:00 PM TI CKET S: Adults $10, Children $5 AgES: Birth to 6 years I N FO: 312.369.3100 To purchase tickets online please visit colum.edu/sherwood or call 1.800.838.3006.

colum.edu/sherwood 1312 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605 312.369.3100

colum.edu/sherwood

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THE CHRONICLE I JANUARY 24, 2011

Someone You Should CHIP DUGGAN

Climbing for solace in metropolis Once a month, The Chronicle profiles people on campus who are doing interesting or important things.

We’re always watching for faculty, staff and students with a story to tell.

by Sam Charles Assistant Campus Editor CHIP DUGGAN, a 25-year-old interdisciplin-

ary arts graduate student, wasn’t used to city life before he moved to Chicago from his hometown in Alexandria, N.H., a town with less than 2,000 residents. The drastic change in environment drove Duggan to reconsider his decision to come to Chicago, but he was able to find his version of peaceful wilderness by climbing city structures and documenting it through his ongoing project “The Urban Quiet.” Using no equipment except chalk on his hands, climbing shoes and a crash pad, Duggan climbs up to 30 feet on different walls, building facades and bridges across the city after learning to climb seven months ago.

The Chronicle: How did you find out about urban climbing?

Chip Duggan: It wasn’t my idea to start climbing stuff. I was asked by another indoor climber to climb the LaSalle Street Bridge [across] the [Chicago] River. But in the midst of climbing, there was one of those “A-ha” spiritual moments, and the city made sense to me. Everything became so quiet and still, even though there were cars driving right above me. I gained this sense of peace I find in nature.

CD: I’m trying different ways to show and share my experience. I started taking clay with me and molding parts of the buildings that no one has ever seen. I’ll bring [the mold] back [to my studio] and fill it with concrete to create—what I call, “The Urban Holds.” It’s the sculptural element. I also always have a professional photographer with me.

The Chronicle: How did you feel about Chicago before you started climbing?

CD: I had serious anxiety about the city. I was about to leave [Columbia’s] grad school because I thought this was not the place for me. I just couldn’t take the city. It’s so flat here and so different than what I’m used to.

The Chronicle: How do you incorporate climbing into what you do at Columbia?

CD: It’s not easy. I’m taking an extreme sport, adding a little twist to it and trying to make it my artistic practice. So my strategy is basically “How can I share this with someone else? And who is my audience?”

My hope is this stuff is awe-inspiring, that it could inspire someone to look at a space a little differently. What’s already latent in the city landscape can be brought out. I’m trying to share my experience with these holds.That’s what gives it the artistic flavor.

Someone can literally take this away from my experience.

The Chronicle: Where does the project’s name come from?

CD: It comes from me being at peace with Courtesy COLLEEN MCGANN the city. When I’m engaged with my body, Duggan uses photography to document his climbs and also started bringing a cinematographer with him the past, my resentments and the future all to shoot video. just vanish. My head becomes so still and The Chronicle: How are you document- quiet that not even the train going above tions, and it’s not overwhelmingly loud. I’ve and I have that adrenaline rush, everything ing your climbs? me is going to distract me. I feel the vibra- spent months in the wilderness hiking the becomes about my body. My theory is when 800-mile Appalachian Trail. I’ve found that everything becomes about your body you peace and quiet in the city. can’t care about anything else. I can only pay attention where my hands and feet are.

The Chronicle: Where have you climbed I’ve fallen a few times, and it hurts falling in the city? from 20 feet.

Brock Brake THE CHRONICLE

Duggan describes the process in which he uses a piece of wood to form concrete moldings of buildings.

CD: All over. McCormick Place, the busi- The Chronicle: Are there any legal issues ness district, the LaSalle Street Bridge, the you have to look out for while doing this?

18th Street Bridge and a lot of places on the South Side, like Jackson Harbor.

CD: Yes, I’ve run into many cops and have been kicked out of many places, but they The Chronicle: What’s the biggest chal- never arrest me. They usually just tell me lenge you face while doing this? to leave. Once a man started screaming at me because he thought I was going to kill CD: Bringing this into some sort of aca- myself, and he was really freaking out. I had demic context and [trying] to share this in to climb down and explain to him it doesn’t the correct way. So I’m struggling with how help that you’re screaming at me while I’m I can share it and capture the peace and up there.That was the one residential buildspiritual experience I’m having. I’m still ing I climbed. After that I decided no more. trying to figure that out.

The Chronicle: Do you have any more The Chronicle: What’s your thought pro- plans to share your work? cess during a climb?

CD: An exhibition is going to consist of 25 CD: Most of my thoughts happen before holds from different locations. I’m actually and after; there’s not much going on in going to climb the holds in the gallery space between.That’s why I like it. I mostly think It’s still in the planning process. about how my hands are feeling. I’m concentrated on my body. When I’m climbing scharles@chroniclemail.com

CAMPUS I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

Critical thinking lost Recent study reveals students lack certain comprehensive skills

by Sara Rimer MCT Newswire AN UNPRECEDENTED study that followed

several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found large numbers of students didn’t learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education.

Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn’t determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.

Arum, whose book “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses” co-written by Josipa Roksa, was released this month, followed 2,322 traditional-age students from fall 2005 to spring 2009 and examined testing data and student surveys at a broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities, from the highly selective to the least selective.

Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these socalled “higher order” thinking skills.

Combining the hours spent studying and in class, students devoted less than a fifth of their time each week to academic pursuits.

By contrast, students spent 51 percent of their time—or 85 hours a week—socializing or in extracurricular activities.

The study also showed students who stud-

ied alone made more significant gains in learning than those who studied in groups.

“I’m not surprised at the results,” said Stephen G.Emerson,president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania.“Our very best students don’t study in groups. They might work in groups in lab projects. But when they study, they study by themselves.”

The study marks one of the first times a cohort of undergraduates has been followed during four years to examine whether they’re learning specific skills. It comes amid President Barack Obama’s call for more college graduates by 2020 and is likely to shine a spotlight on the quality of the education they receive.

“These findings are extremely valuable for those of us deeply concerned about the state of undergraduate learning and student intellectual engagement,” said Brian D. Casey, president of DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. “They will surely shape discussions about curriculum and campus life for years to come.”

Some educators note a weakened economy and a need to work while in school may be partly responsible for the reduced focus on academics, while others caution against using the study to blame students for not applying themselves.

Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education—known for his theory of multiple intelligences—said the study underscores the need for higher education to push students harder.

“No one concerned with education can be pleased with the findings of this study,” Gardner said. “I think higher education in general is not demanding enough of students —academics are simply of less importance than they were a generation ago.”

But the solution, in Gardner’s view, shouldn’t be to introduce high-stakes tests to measure learning in college because “the cure is likely to be worse than the disease.” chronicle@colum.edu

Photo Illustration Brent Lewis THE CHRONICLE

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THE CHRONICLE I JANUARY 24, 2011

For-profit colleges combat accusations Dozens of institutions fight allegations, mislead students

by Becky Yerak MCT Newswire A FOR-PROFIT college coalition co-chaired by

CHIC AGO LOOP

a Chicago private-equity executive is suing the U.S. Department of Education regarding an August 2010 report that accused the fast-growing industry of deception and questionable marketing practices.

The Dec. 9 lawsuit stems from the coalition’s failed efforts to gain access to documents, notes and videotapes the U.S. Government Accountability Office referred to in concluding all 15 for-profit colleges visited by undercover student applicants engaged in deceptive practices, including encouraging applicants to falsify their financial aid forms to qualify for federal aid.

The GAO reissued its 27-page report on Nov. 30 “to clarify and add more precise wording.” The revisions generally made the colleges look better, but the GAO said it stands by its findings. The DOE declined to comment about the suit.

The Coalition for Educational Success, whose members include career colleges, maintains in its suit that the report is being used by critics of career colleges to tarnish the reputation of all for-profit schools and advance the Obama administration’s effort to push what are called “gainful employment” rules. The rules essentially tie forprofit schools’ access to federal student aid to their graduates’ ability to repay their student debt.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a critic of forprofit colleges, said at a Senate education committee hearing federal financial aid to students at for-profit colleges has ballooned to more than $23 billion a year from $4.6 billion a decade ago.

The GAO contends students who attend for-profit colleges are more likely to default on federal student loans than students from other colleges. During the past decade, for-profit college enrollment has risen to more than 2 million students from 600,000, Harkin said.

But for-profit college advocates say default rates are mostly related to students’ socioeconomic status, not the type of college. Colleges that serve more minority students have lower loan repayment rates,

one study found.

The average loan repayment rate is 30 percent at colleges with more than twothirds minority enrollment, compared with 62 percent at colleges where less than a tenth of students are minorities, according to a September 2010 report by FinAid.org, an online resource about student financial aid.

Avy Stein, managing partner of Chicagobased private-equity firm Willis Stein & Partners—whose holdings include Birmingham, Ala. based Education Corp. of America, which operates Virginia College— told the Chicago Tribune the government’s actions against for-profit colleges will cost jobs and eliminate options for minority students. Stein is co-chairman of the Coalition for Educational Success.

On Nov. 29, Stein and other coalition members met with four Education Department officials in Washington about the gainful employment issue, according to the DOE. The following day the GAO reissued its report.

The DOE acknowledged the request on Oct. 27 and under federal law has 20 working days to respond, the lawsuit contends. The coalition said its request is being stonewalled.

In its Dec. 9 suit, the coalition said it also requested documents related to communications between DOE and investors who may have “shorted” stocks of for-profit colleges. Short-sellers bet against stocks.

In August 2010, the GAO said all 15 forprofit colleges made questionable statements to undercover applicants.

The GAO report didn’t mention the schools by name, but their identities were divulged in an Aug. 4 Senate testimony by the report’s author. Schools included the College of Office Technology in Chicago and Chicago’s Argosy University, which is owned by publicly traded Education Management Corp., whose stock is down 23 percent since the beginning of 2010.

They’re expected to go into effect on or around July 1, 2012. “[The GAO has] reached out to set up a meeting,” said GAO spokesman Chuck Young. “We plan to provide the members with the information they’re seeking.”

The coalition also questions why only forprofit colleges were studied or how those 15 were picked. chronicle@colum.edu

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CAMPUS I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

xx FULBRIGHT

Don’t just read it.

Experience It.

Continued from PG. 3 in 1991 he moved back to Peru. He was a professor at the University of Lima and the design director of El Comercio newspaper, the largest publication in Peru. He was then hired by the Tribune Company to return to the U.S. and be the art director of Exito!, the Spanish speaking publication, Leturia said. He started teaching at Columbia after that, where he teaches courses such as visual journalism and reporting for Spanish speaking media.

Leturia said the new position will be a lot of work, but he is elated to be part of such an influential organization.

“To be the president of a chapter here in the United States and to be representing this community is a great honor for me,” Leturia said.

. .. .

. . . . . . .. www.columbiachronicle.com/ . . multimedia . .. . .

DELILAH’S 2771 N. Lincoln * (773) 472-2771

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Brock Brake THE CHRONICLE

xx HEATH Continued from PG. 3 the traditional for-profit corporate sector, service industries and technology. From there she moved to nonprofit, healthcare and higher education. Heath also has experience in operations, human resources and insurance.

Heath received her bachelor of science degree in accounting from Northeastern Illinois University and lives in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. The opportunity to stay in Chicago helped Heath decide

9

to come to Columbia. She’s lived in the city for 28 years after growing up in Virginia.

“I’m not going back [to Virginia now; I don’t think I could,” Heath said.

Though she is the acting CFO and vice president of Business Affairs, Heath is not directly employed by Columbia but with Tatum.

“I’m a business partner for the president as well as my peers in the cabinet,” she said.

“I’ll offer my expertise in my area, make sure of process improvements, best practices and that we’re all on the same page.” scharles@chroniclemail.com

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Non-Profit Expo: 12:30-2:30pm

Find internships, jobs and volunteer opportunities with non-profits!

To see the list of attending non-profits and to register, go to: www.colum.edu/nonprofitcareerfair This event is brought to you by: Career Initiatives and the Center for Community Arts Partnerships (CCAP)

10

THE CHRONICLE I JANUARY 24, 2011

xx BOOK

used space in the building Roosevelt has torn down for its new building, the Wabash Continued from Front Page Project, 425 S. Wabash Ave. The forward for the book was written records were on campus, and she had to by Columbia President Warrick L. Carter, check other sources. who Winke and Marshall said has been “Before [the college] came to the South supportive throughout the process.

Carter origiLoop we were in a bunch of rental nally wanted properties,” Marto create shall said. “We the book inactually chronicle house so it where the colcould have a lege has been all Columbia look over the city and and feel, but some of those in the wake pictures reside in of the economic crisis other repositories.” in 2008 ArcaMarshall said dia proved she was able to be a cheaper find information about Columbia at outlet, accordthe Chicago Hising to Winke. tory Museum , Marshall said Illinois Institute adding the colof Technology and lege’s history the Chicago Symto the Arcadia phony Orchestra.

College HisShe said knowtory series will ing exactly what complement locations the colCourtesy COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO ARCHIVES the college’s lege used in the past published work. was a way to find who might have “It’s a nice way to get the word out about the college,” Marshall said. interesting information now.

“Sometimes [it takes] doing a little bit “[To] show people what a good place of detective work,” Marshall said. “[These Columbia is and the terrific history the places] might not have something, but college has had.” they usually have a lead about where The book is available on pre-sale from Amazon. com for $14.95. Arcadia Publishing’s website, else to check.”

Winke revealed Columbia once occupied ArcadiaPublishing.com, lists it for $21.99. the main building at Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave. He also said Columbia ssmith@chroniclemail.com

FEATURED PHOTO

Brent Lewis THE CHRONICLE

Junior theater student Rebecca Quin learns about what the Office of Student Engagement offers during the Student Welcome Week. This week was created to help incoming freshmen and transfer students get used to Columbia and find out what the college has to offer it’s students.

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11

12

THE CHRONICLE I JANUARY 24, 2011

image + implication

image + implicati

image + implication

Revisiting the images of being illegal in America image + implication

by Maria Cruz

Freshman, fine art major I DIDN’T used to think of my life as being

any different from anybody else’s, but then, I was always surrounded by others whose circumstances were similar to mine.

I grew up in a town that was primarily Hispanic, poor and illegal. Nobody had a stable job without having a fake social security number. They were mostly housekeepers or, like my dad, landscapers. Nobody expected to be anything else because they knew they couldn’t. That was the role we had been handed.

There was a strange communication system in our town. If there was ever an immigration officer scare, everyone would be notified and no one dared to drive a car anywhere. As it was, they rarely ever did drive, and my mom was one of them. She was always too wary, panicking during a small situation and gripping the steer-

Critical Photo of the week

ing wheel of a police car nearby. After my her lengthy stories or monologues, until mom’s driver’s license expired, she drove they became more of a soliloquy. Still, she without one for a while, but she complete- would press on and on and talk about how ly stopped once my sister got hers. much she wanted to pursue her papers, Everything was a risk to my mom. She although we all knew it would be too dancomplained and cried; she tried to talk gerous to do so. She held onto an image of my father into going to a lawyer and con- becoming a legal citizen like her husband vincing him to help get her papers, but he and her children. always turned her down. His fear of losing Once a case like hers is closed, it’s better the battle in court, and to leave it alone. It’s like in turn losing her, was constantly being under greater than any proma motion detector alarm. ise of a better life for my One small move and she mother. Meanwhile, she There are between 10 and would be spotted; we’d waited and hoped. When 20 million illegal immigrants be trapped with nowhere it got to be too much for hide and she would be in the United States. My mom to her she disappeared. taken away.

We found her in a dark is one of them.”

It angered me more -Maria Cruz corner of the basement, and more to hear her crying silently to herself. talk about it. I wished I could never undershe would leave things as stand what it was she coveted so much. they were, even if she never got her papers.

She had one image of being an American When my family received a letter from citizen and I had another. Perhaps it’s immigration services, saying my mother because I had the rights she could only had been officially declared an illegal wish for, and maybe I took my freedoms immigrant and she could be removed for granted. from this country at any time, that’s For a long time, I pretended the issue when I finally woke up and faced reality. of illegal immigration didn’t exist. I saw Suddenly I was frightened, too. news coverage of the DREAM Act and There are between 10 and 20 million heard radio broadcasts about immigra- illegal immigrants in the United States. tion issues, but I never paid attention. The My mom is one of them. What images more my mother pushed her feelings on do we have of them? When it comes to me, the more I resisted and pulled away. Mexicans who are here illegally, everyI rolled my eyes at her homesickness and thing becomes one big generalization, sighed tiredly whenever she began one of filled with claims they should never be

allowed to be citizens because of the diseases they carry, the amounts of money it takes to educate them and how many jobs they will take away. There’s little discussion of why it would be right to allow them a path to citizenship—out of kindness for people who want nothing more than a better life for themselves.

That’s the image of undocumented Mexicans I grew up with, and the one my mom continues to struggle with to this day. chronicle@colum.edu

CRITICAL ENCOUNTERS

S

get involved

uccessful essays generally make one solid point or have one central focus. Try to make that point by telling a story; use description and anecdotes to bring your story to life for readers. Submissions should be approximately 750 words; expect them to be edited down for publication.

S

end essays via e-mail to Sharon BloydPeshkin at speshkin@colum.edu or criticalencounters@colum.edu. Please include your academic department and your classification (student, staff, faculty, administrator). If you are a student, please include your major and your level (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior). Include your contact information (e–mail and phone).

Photo by PAUL D’AMATO, Girl in Shopping Cart Chicago, 1990, From the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Photography Columbia College Chicago, Gift of Sonia and Theodore Bloch

Questions of the

WEEK

Look carefully at the image and describe what you see. What do you know to be true about this image?

image + implication

What details reveal that information?

What assumptions might you have made?

image + implication

image + implicati

HEALTH & FITNESS I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

Renegades baseball in full swing Columbia’s club team prepares for season, changes divisions

by Etheria Modacure Assistant Health & Fitness Editor THE SOUND of a baseball hitting a leather

glove, the smell of grass and the view from the batter’s box has been moved indoors, but that hasn’t stopped the Columbia Renegades baseball team from practicing for the upcoming season.

The Renegades are limited to a paid hour and a half of pitching, hitting and defense practice at Line Drive Baseball Academy, 6501 W. 65th St. This is a drawback compared to other teams who have more time to work on fundamentals by practicing nearly every weekday in their own facilities.

Columbia was 2-14 last spring in the National Club Baseball Association Division I. They were mostly plagued by short rosters of no more than 20 players, which didn’t help them sustain any momentum in a three-game series, according to team captain and senior radio major Mackinley Salk.

Without more players on the pitching staff, in the bullpen or utility players, the Renegades usually have athletes who are playing in unfamiliar positions.

“The odds are against us, but I like that,” Salk said. “It’s motivating. It really is.”

The Renegades recently switched to Division II of the NCBA, and Salk said it was done to remain competitive on the baseball diamond and because Columbia isn’t affili-

ated with any NCAA athletics.

“We looked at the whole, big picture and said, ‘We’re not a school that has a Division I team,’” Salk said. “We are our top team. I feel like the past couple of years we were Northwestern [University football] playing in the Southeastern Conference. It just was not fair.”

The Renegades typically have three starting pitchers. If a player can’t pitch because of arm soreness or fatigue, it creates problems for a team carrying 18-20 players on its roster.

“We’re lucky to go on the road with 15 players, let alone have 30 players,” Salk said.

“At the end of the weekend, the guys [who] play, they’re done.”

Given that the Renegades are limited as far as players on its roster, the chance to play baseball competitively has some participants eager to begin the season.

Junior music major Dave Vessella likened his ability to play baseball to the movie “Bull Durham.” Vessella said he is happy to be part of a team, and he hasn’t played competitively since high school. He also added he likes that the Renegades are a selfcoached team because players accustomed to pitching and hitting certain ways don’t have to worry about changing their styles.

“It’s a very Columbia philosophy [on] how we do things,” Vessella said. “People do things [different ways]. You may like to hit far back in the box and take a big step.

You may like to take no step. You may like to

01/24/11 Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls Former Bulls player John Salmons and the Bucks visit the United Center to take on the Central Division leading Bulls. Derrick Rose is averaging 24 points and eight assists and is an early MVP candidate.

United Center 1901 W. Madison St. 7 p.m.

01/25/11 Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks The Blackhawks will be playing their third game in four nights when they face the Wild at the United Center. Former Blackhawk Martin Havlat leads the Wild in goals scored and points.

United Center 1901 W. Madison St. 7 p.m.

01/27/11 Yoga class If you’re into yoga, this will be the perfect class to jump start your semester.

Be prepared to wake up early because it starts before sunrise.

Fitness Formula Club 1151 S. State St. 6 a.m.

xx SEE RENEGADES, PG. 17

Indoor activity receives mixed industry reviews, adjustments needed

by Katy Nielsen Assistant Health & Fitness Editor SYNTHETIC ICE made its debut this month

in Chicago at the John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michigan Ave., introducing the city to a new indoor experience called Skating in the Sky. But there is some skepticism from industry professionals about how well the installation operates.

On Jan. 11, the rink on the 94th floor of the Hancock Observatory was covered in scratches and sprinkled with shavings and dirt from the plastic polymer material that constitutes synthetic ice. With dozens of manufacturers, each one claiming it has the best formula, it is debatable as to which business truly has the best.

“It’s not as glide-y as normal ice, but it’s the closest thing,” said Daniel Thomas, general manager of the observatory inside the center. “It just takes a bit of adjusting.”

The idea behind synthetic ice is it saves time, energy and money because real ice requires constant refrigeration and regular resurfacing by a Zamboni.

The company behind the Hancock rink is XTRAICE—founded in 2003 by a team of scientists and professional hockey players— which boasts more than 130 installations worldwide and was chosen from dozens

13

Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

Participants skate on synthethic ice at the John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michigan Ave. XTRAICE is the company that supplies the polymer material to the John Hancock Observatory.

of competitors as the company for the Chicago location.

Eric Schneider, an associate at Sport Surface Chicago in East Dundee, Ill., a company that works with XTRAICE, said the observatory has been overwhelmed with a high volume of visitors to the rink, and it is hurting the quality of the material. At peak hours, the rink can be filled with 20 to 25 people.

Chris Ebbert, one of the observatory skat-

ing guards, said the rink is resurfaced every two to three days.

“Just like a regular ice sheet, the surface gets dirty,” Schneider said. “The surface is meant to be easier to maintain than real ice, but it requires daily cleaning. I was up there last [week and] … I could tell the blades that were brand new were [already] dulled.”

Schneider attributed this to a poorly maintained surface.

XTRAICE Marketing Director Viktor

Meier explained the resurfacing procedure includes daily vacuuming, spraying the rink once a week with a machine-propelled water-based solution and applying a silicone gel to the surface.

“I’ve noticed the skate blades are catching,” Ebbert said. “You veer off wherever [the ice] wants to take you.”

Another problem people have found with the synthetic surface is the wear on skate blades.

According to Perry Boskus, president of Global Synthetic Ice, it may be more than poor maintenance contributing to the lessthan-favorable conditions in the Hancock installation, which include dust, dirt, shavings and rough grooves on the material.

Bishin Her, 20, was at the center visiting from Australia and tried out the rink.

“It hurts more to fall on this than it does on real ice,” Her said. “And I had a hard time making turns.”

Boskus is the inventor of a product called Super-Glide, which he said most effectively simulates ice skating. Boskus, a recreational figure skater and hockey player, said he has seen skaters do triple jumps on his synthetic ice.

Boskus has been skating on various synthetic surfaces since the 1980s. In 2000, his team created a new type of synthetic material that does not require a silicone spray.

This silicone-free synthetic ice is something XTRAICE is in the process of xx SEE ICE, PG. 18

14

THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

STAYIN’ SAVVY

More play, less work makes for healthier lifestyle AF TER

POURING

countless hours into various jobs, I was always under the impression that hard work would eventually pay off. However, according to a new

by Stephanie Saviola study, that might not be the case.

Managing Editor The Journal of American College of Cardiology released a study several weeks ago and said people who sit in front of a computer or “screen-based entertainment” for extended periods of time each day are at risk for heart problems even if they perform cardiovascular activities.

The sedentary lifestyle can raise chances of cardiovascular disease and increased mortality rates.

Even as I sit here and write, I will have clocked in roughly 15 hours at work in one day while sitting in front of a computer monitor, but it is unavoidable.

There is no doubt that as a society, we are overworked. We’re often pushed to our physical and mental limits during the work week. Work days are starting earlier and ending later, and all for what? However, those fortunate enough to find time to squeeze in a gym visit to counteract the inactivity endured at work might not even reap the health benefits from the activity.

In addition to working long hours, people are coming home and spending additional hours fixated on their computers, cell phones and TV programs.

In many European countries, people’s work weeks are shorter and in places such as Italy and France, they are allowed approximately 40 days of paid vacation opposed to the mere two weeks we normally receive in the United States.

Perhaps more employers should follow Google Inc. headquarter’s work mantra, which allows its employees to work in a “fun” yet productive environment. There have been reports that Google has a flexible work environment and provides break rooms with video games, free lunch in its cafeterias to encourage team bonding and one day a week where employees are allowed to work on a project of his or her choice.

Maybe that’s why the company has consistently topped Fortune’s list of 100 Best Employers to work for.

Reducing the time you spend in front of your television and computer can help you become more active, but I can’t blame people for wanting to de-stress or decompress in front of mindless entertainment.

I’m guilty of spending hours at work in front of a computer monitor only to go home and spend even more time on my laptop chatting and looking at blogs on the Internet.

Even if employers can’t afford to offer more paid vacation time, they should at least find ways to reduce work hours or allow for more break times at work.

There is an easy solution to this problem: I propose four-day work weeks and three-day weekends. Who’s with me? ssaviola@chroniclemail.com

SADness on the rise Winter weather creates emotional distress, dictates moods

by Meghan Gray Assistant Beat Editor ONE FORM of depression commonly expe-

rienced in the colder months is Seasonal Affective Disorder. Arctic temperatures and minimal sunlight can cause people to experience winter dejection.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, winter-onset symptoms typically appear in late fall and early winter and are gone by summer. The condition is reported to mildly affect between 10 and 20 percent of the American population.

Lack of sunlight in the colder months causes one’s body to produce more melatonin than during any other season. The chemical is secreted into the blood by the pineal gland in the brain and regulates sleep-wake cycles.

“People could get to the point where they feel very despondent,” said Rebecca Aronson, coordinator of Counseling Services at Columbia. “Many students come to the counseling center with sub-clinical levels of depression, especially in the winter.”

Jaymee Crouch, junior english major, said she feels a similar symptom of depression during the season.

“I always get bummed out in the winter,” Crouch said.

According to Aronson, people who feel

Personal Trainer

Taking a power nap for fatigue

When you’re tired, a 10-minute nap improves performance better than a shorter or a longer sleep, according to new Australian research.

• Participants took a series of performance tests, then were allowed to sleep for 5, 10, 20 or 30 minutes

Results

• Their performance level was then retested over the next 3 hours

• After a 20- or 30-minute nap, the participants reported feeling groggy, and their performance was impaired for as much as 30 minutes

• Performance did not improve significantly after a 5-minute nap

Possible reason

During a long nap, you sink into lower levels of sleep, then wake up feeling groggy; “sleep inertia” can last an hour or two

• People who took 10-minute naps had improved performance and felt most alert

During a 10-minute nap, the nervous sytem sleeps lightly and doesn’t go into sleep inertia

© 2010 MCT

For some unknown reason, the process of falling asleep itself, even if it’s followed by only a brief nap, has significant benefits Source: Flinders University School of Psychology Sleep Laboratory (Adelaide, Australia), Reuters Graphic: Paul Trap

mended treatment for SAD. Alexis Murray-Golay, a Ravenswood licensed professional counselor discussed how light boxes simulate the rays emitted from the sun. depressed may have thoughts of death “Exposing yourself to a light box helps or suicide. turn off how much melatonin your brain “If it gets to the point where a person is making and also helps increase how can’t function and it is really severe, then much serotonin your brain is making, probably a good course of action would be to which is a little feel-good chemical,” try some kind of medication,” Aronson said. Murray-Golay said Being a subset of depression, the sympOther suggestions to improve symptoms toms of SAD are analogous and can include include exercising regularly, maintaining a a lack of energy, oversleeping, increase in balanced diet, engaging in social activities, consumption of carbohydrates, intense spending time outside and chronotherapy. sadness and social withdrawal.

Chronotherapeutic methods are a “To have a diagnosis of Seasonal Affective “set of circadian rhythm-altering interDisorder, you have to have had two years ventions that treat depression by adjustwhere there has been an onset of a depres- ments of the sleep-wake cycle and daily sive mood that coincides with the changing light exposure,” according to the Chicago of seasons,” Aronson said.

Psychiatry Association.

SAD is the body’s reaction to scarce “[SAD] is one of those mental health quantities of daylight. Because of this, disorders that’s on light therapy is considered the most suc- a continuum, cessful method of treatment, according where probto a study by the Department of Psychology at Rush-PresbyterianSt. Luke’s Medical Center, light therapy has antidepressant effect and is a reccom-

ably everybody has it and it just varies in severity,” Murray-Golay said.

According to Aronson, what’s interesting about Seasonal Affective Disorder is the higher up in the latitudes you go, the more prevalent the condition becomes.

“People who] live close to the equator are not as likely to get Seasonal Affective Disorder,” Aronson said.

John F.Gottlieb, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Northwestern University, notes that in terms of formal psychiatric diagnosis, SAD is not technically classified as a medical condition.

“Seasonal features serve as course modifiers that are regularly added to different mood disorder diagnoses,” Gottlieb said.

“When we talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder, we’re talking about either standard depression or bipolar disorder with seasonal features.”

In regards to seasonality, it means a person’s moods follow a particular pattern throughout the year.

“Seasonal affective disorder is something that comes and goes,” Murray-Golay said. mgray@chroniclemail.com

Edward Kang THE CHRONICLE

HEALTH & FITNESS I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

Slammin’ salmon fillets

15

INGREDIENTS 2 salmon fillets 1 can of olive oil in a spray can 1 tablespoon garlic salt 1 tablespoon onion salt 1 pinch of pepper 1 tablespoon of dillweed 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise 1 tablespoon of horseradish sauce 1/4 cup of Olde Cape Cod All Natural Toasted Soy and Ginger vinaigrette

INSTRUCTIONS

Make co-workers jealous with this amazing recipe served hot or cold

1. Preheat the oven at a low broil or

by Katy Nielsen Assistant Health & Fitness Editor COOKING A salmon fillet is perfect for a first

date or great when served cold for lunch at work the next day. When seasoned well, salmon is a delicious, flavorful fish. It is hearty and filled with protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Overall, salmon is a healthy and easy choice for any meal.

The key to making a succulent salmon fillet is not to overcook the fish and use the right kind of sauce. Choosing a fillet is almost as important as how you cook it, so it should be fresh and never frozen.

First, you will need a flat oven-safe pan with a rim to keep the oil and juices in the dish while the fish is broiling. You will need olive oil in a spray can, garlic salt, onion salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to a low broil or 350 degrees. Next, you will need to clean the salmon by running cool water across the

Brent Lewis THE CHRONICLE

fillet, and then debone it, which can be done by running the tips of your fingers across the fish, lightly pressing on it and removing bones where you feel them. Even a well-chosen salmon fillet can often still have bones in it. Remove any scales if necessary. Pat the salmon dry when you are done cleaning it.

Now you will need to prepare a pan by spraying an olive oil spray across the surface. Arrange the salmon fillets skin-side down on the pan. Sprinkle the fish with spices and herbs. This includes garlic salt, onion salt, pepper (lightly) and dillweed across the entire fillet. Season the salmon on one side; there is no need to flip it.

Place the salmon in the oven, and allow it to broil for approximately 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. You do not want to overbake the salmon. The inside of

the fish should be pink when you serve it.

Use a spatula to transfer the salmon from the pan to plates. Next, you can choose to dress the salmon with a sesame ginger dressing. Olde Cape Cod All Natural Toasted Sesame Soy and Ginger vinaigrette is a great choice because it’s light and adds a sweet and delicious flavor to the fish’s saltiness.

If you want to mix it up, try stirring up your own topping. In a small container, combine a tablespoon of mayonnaise and a tablespoon of creamy horseradish sauce and add an ample amount of dill seasoning.

You can choose to dip the salmon fillets in the dill sauce and drizzle the sesame vinaigrette across the fillets.

350 degrees.

2. Clean the salmon.

3. Sprinkle with spices: garlic salt, onion salt, pepper (lightly), dillweed 4. Spray the pan with olive oil.

5. Place salmon on the pan.

6. Put in oven and broil for 15 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

7. Dress the salmon with a sesame ginger dressing or make your own mixture with mayonnaise and horse radish sauce.

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Roosevelt revives athletic program Dormant since 1988, university responds to student survey with sports

by Etheria Modacure Assistant Health & Fitness Editor STUDENTS ATTENDING Roosevelt University

were recently surveyed by the administration and asked what the college needed most on campus. Overwhelmingly, they concluded that athletics were missing from the formerly commuter-based school.

With more students living on campus at University Center of Chicago, 525 S. State St., and the college needing an identity, the reinstatement of athletics was a no-brainer for Roosevelt. After a 22-year absence, athletics have returned to a campus of 7,306 students.

Roosevelt has seven athletic teams, including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, tennis and cross country.

“It’s been a great addition to the university,” said Roosevelt Athletic Director Mike Cassidy. “It was already a diverse campus.

The one face missing in the crowd was the face of the student athlete.That face is now represented with the seven athletic teams we have competing.”

Cassidy, who previously worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago said there are challenges for a first-year athletic program, and the administration is enduring the obstacles that come with it. He said there will be five more athletic programs added to the university’s vertical campus

Sara Mays THE CHRONICLE

Roosevelt University is fielding seven athletic teams in fall 2010. In fall 2011, the University will add women’s volleyball. 2012 will welcome men’s and women’s soccer and golf to the athletic program.

in 2012.

There will be a brand-new gymnasium inside the main campus building, which will be 32 stories high. Roosevelt will add women’s volleyball in the fall and men’s and women’s soccer and golf in 2012.

“In future years, we will go from not having athletics to having [more than] 200 student athletes on campus,” Cassidy said. “We’re really proud of that and what it’s helping doing in terms of rallying our student body around a common cause. No matter what your background is, everyone is now a Roosevelt Laker.”

The Lakers are part of the National Asso-

ciation of Intercollegiate Athletics and play their home basketball games at the Keating Sports Center, 3040 S. Wabash Ave., on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology.

Roosevelt plays in the same conference as Robert Morris University, Olivet-Nazarene University, St. Xavier University and St. Francis University, which are all located in the Chicago area.

With Chicago as Roosevelt’s home city adding more marketability to the NAIA, it has the league excited about the growth of its program, according to NAIA CEO Jim Carr.

“Anytime you get a market like Chicago,

it does offer you some visibility and presence,” Carr said. “We have some schools there that have some great history, and the Chicagoland conference is a strong NAIA conference. When you can add a school with the quality of Roosevelt, it continues to add strength to what’s already a good situation.”

For Roosevelt to be accredited by the NAIA, Carr said a number of factors were accounted for during the selection process.

He said representatives visited the school to learn about their plans for athletics, which is based on the program’s future.

Carr noted facilities were toured and financials were reviewed for the university and its athletic department. Conference affiliation was laid out for the Lakers before information between Roosevelt and the NAIA was transferred.

After being accredited by the NAIA, the Lakers had to fill coaching vacancies for their newly formed teams. Cassidy said it wasn’t a problem because coaches began inquiring about the open positions the moment they were announced.

One coach Roosevelt hired, Joe Griffin, was a graduate assistant coach under Michigan State University Head Coach Tom Izzo.

“I wasn’t sure if he was going to give it to me or not because there were a lot of other great candidates, and he gave it to me,” Griffin said.

According to Griffin, he was notified he would be the men’s basketball head coach xx SEE ROOSEVELT, PG. 17

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HEALTH & FITNESS I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

xx ROOSEVELT Continued from PG. 16

Etheria Modacure THE CHRONICLE

Without depth on the roster, the Renegades are sometimes forced to move players to positions they aren’t accustomed to playing. Dave Vessella catches a bullpen session after pitching.

xx RENEGADES Continued from PG. 13 throw sidearm. It doesn’t matter.”

Vessella said he has a natural playing style. When he had a pitching session on Jan. 19 at Line Drive Baseball Academy, he was told it was unnecessary to change his pitching delivery. He was able to throw strikes in a simulated environment without much movement on the mound.

For co-captain Dustin Ruppenstein, senior advertising art direction major, getting organized early is one of the top priorities for the team. He said getting players to get used to game speed helps them prepare for opponents better than seeing their first live pitch in their opener.

“When we start our first conference series, [we want to be] able to hit the ball instead of getting our first shots at it then, like we have in the past,” Ruppenstein said.

The team used to practice batting at Sluggers Bar & Grill, 3450 N. Clark St., which wasn’t the ideal place to practice hitting, according to Ruppenstein. He said it was great the Renegades were able to find Line Drive because they can practice pitching, fielding and hitting.

He added another problem with practicing for the Renegades is the ability to get all team members honing their skills on the same day.

For batters, he said hitting breaking balls was a problem last spring, and it’s something they’ve addressed in practice.

“A lot of us [hitters] were having a hard time picking up the curveball from the [opposing] pitcher,” Ruppenstein said.

Carpooling and working on fundamentals on a limited basis doesn’t have any of the Renegades regretting playing for the love of the game.

“You know you really love baseball when you take this much time out of your schedule to put it all together,” Salk said. “It’s studentrun and I love it. I have a blast.” emodacure@chroniclemail.com

while on the golf course.

“I celebrated for two seconds then I hit to hit my tee shot. I proceeded to shank my shot off the nearest oak tree and could never find the ball because I was pretty excited.”

Cassidy and Griffin acknowledged having the opportunity to leave their footprint on a new athletic department has them excited about the program’s future.

“I want this thing to be where [students] know they’re not playing at UIC or Division I or II [and] say, ‘Well, I want to go to Roosevelt,’” Griffin said. “Because [there is] a great education at a great school [and] a great location right on Michigan Avenue.”

Cassidy said one of the things he learned at UIC was to keep working and to show up every day. He said the hard work eventually pays off and everything is about the student athlete at Roosevelt.

“We all have the special opportunity to be the founding fathers on what will be a great athletic department in the future,” Cassidy said. “To where 20, 30 years from

17

now, when Roosevelt is known as a real quality athletic and academic institution, we can say we had an impact on why it is as successful as it is.” emodacure@chroniclemail.com

Sara Mays THE CHRONICLE

Roosevelt University added seven athletics teams after an overwhelming response from students.

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18

THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

‘Talk derby to me’

Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

Hell’s Belles Jammer, No. 4, Unicoroner, fights her way through the Manic Attackers pack during the first bout of the Windy City Rollers season home opener.

The Manic Attackers beat the Hell’s Belles 137-71 at the UIC Pavilion on Jan. 15.

Home opener gets Chicago amped up, skater season rolling

of Hell’s Belles by night, played five seasons with the team before joining the all-star travel team, which won the North Central Regional Championships last year.

“Each season I find something different

by Katy Nielsen to focus on,” DeCrime said. “Sometimes it’s Assistant Health & Fitness Editor the teamwork, sometimes it’s the camaIN A blur of spandex, fishnet tights, shin- raderie, sometimes it’s the competition, high socks and helmets, the Windy City sometimes it’s wanting to hit someone, but Rollers raced around the track fighting right now it’s really the athleticism.” for positions and points. The organization The sport requires agility, strength, began its sixth year at the endurance, quick home opener on Jan. 15 at thinking and a lot of practice, accordthe University of Illinois DeCrime. at Chicago Pavilion, 525 S. I don’t think one girl comes into ing“Itotend Racine Ave., for a crowd of to pracderby without expecting to get tice about four more than 4,000 people.

Chicago’s WCR league bumped and bruised here and times a week,” she consists of four home there.” said. “One of those teams: Hell’s Belles was is usually an offskates boot camp. up against Manic AttackPractices focus on ers and The Fury compet-Miss Illannoy agility, speed and ed against Double Crosscertain positions in ers, and both match ups were for inner-league rankings. the pack.”

DeCrime is a jammer, which means she The home opener was highly physical and competitive between the four Chicago is the game’s point scorer. These players home teams. The matches ended with two wear a star on their helmets and score four decisive victories for the Manic Attackers points every lap they make around the and The Fury. Manic Attackers swept Hell’s track. If one of these point scorers laps the Belles 137-to-71 and The Fury beat Double opposing team’s jammer, she scores five Crossers 128-to-84. points, and that is called a Grand Slam.

Skaters hold one of three positions, Athena DeCrime, social worker by day and founding member and league trainer which are all identifiable by markings on

their helmets. The pivot wears a striped helmet cover, and her job is to control the pack with effective positioning, maneuvering and shoving of the skaters around her.

Blockers don’t wear helmet covers and are part of both a team’s offense and defense. They assist the jammers, helping them get through the pack and block the opposing team’s jammer. They work in conjunction with the pivot to out-maneuver other skaters. Each team consists of one pivot, three blockers and one jammer.

“You look out there and you see women who are larger, you see women who are smaller, short and tall; every body type is valuable in derby,” DeCrime said.

While the sport is physical, there are rules about what can and cannot be done

to an opponent, said Barbara Brawlters, No. 2020, a blocker for the Haymarket Rioters, which is the farm team for the WCR. The rules about contact apply to members of opposing teams. Players can pull and grab their teammates to move around the track.

There is no elbowing, pulling, tripping or grabbing of opponents. Any of those actions will result in a penalty, and players are allotted four penalties per game. Mostly, players shove one another sideways with their shoulders.

“We show off bruises to each other all the time,” said DeCrime, who has never been seriously injured on the track, but has sprained her ankles and hurt her shoulders.

During the two home-opener games, there were more than four injuries. One member of Double Crossers had to be helped off the track after taking a bad fall.

“I don’t think one girl comes into derby without expecting to get bumped and bruised here and there,” said Miss Illannoy, a high school art teacher and Rioter.

Illannoy said she never played sports nor had any prior skating experience before coming into the derby, which is common among players.

At the end of January, there will be a small draft of four or five Rioters members to the WCR teams. Future drafts will recruit in larger numbers. The players said they are anxiously waiting for the results of the first draft.

“We come from all walks of life and we’re united,” Illannoy said. “We’re all strong, tough females; we’re able to get our butts kicked and be together while we’re doing it.

You just can’t replace that.”

Julia Rosenwinkle, a jammer in her seventh season and Double Crossers captain, said in addition to loving the violence and competition of the sport, she loves the team’s camaraderie.

“It is a way of life. It becomes family,” Rosenwinkle said.

The average stay in the derby is two to three seasons, according to the players.

“But there are some of us who stick around forever,” DeCrime said. “We just can’t get it out of our blood.” knielsen@chroniclemail.com

xx ICE Continued from PG. 13 developing, Meier said.

XTRAICE is made from a hard polymer plastic, which prevents skate blades from seeping into the material, and makes turning on edges a challenge for skaters, according to Boskus.

“What they purchase is just a plastic anybody can purchase,” Boskus said of XTRAICE.

It hurts more to fall on this than it does on real ice, and I had a hard time making turns.”

-Bishin Her

Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

Lead jammer from The Fury, No. 911, Kola Loka, rounds the turn after clearing the pack. The Fury won the bout against The Double Crossers 128-84 at the UIC Pavilion on Jan. 15.

The decision to use XTRAICE at the Chicago location was largely influenced by the endorsement of the product by companies, including Walt Disney Resorts and the Florida Panthers hockey team, Thomas said. “[XTRAICE] does all this marketing and people fall for it,” Boskus said. “It gives [synthetic ice] a bad name. It really hurts our overall business.”

Thomas stands by the quality of the Hancock rink. He said it has been easy to

Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

Staff of Skating in the Sky, the synthetic ice rink on the Observation deck of the John Hancock Center, take turns on the "ice.” The rink is open until March 31.

manage and has surpassed expectations.

To try skating on synthetic ice, visit The John Hancock Observatory, on the 94th floor, 875 N. Michigan Ave. Skating in the Sky is open daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. through March 31. Twentyfive minutes of ice time costs $5 and skates can be rented for $1. knielsen@chroniclemail.com

HEALTH & FITNESS I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

19

How to: Meditate for beginners The sitting posture

Taking a few minutes to calm your mind can improve your life

by Katy Nielsen

“Having a firm pillow to sit on can be help,” Guadagni said. “It can be done in a chair, it can be done sitting down.

Elongating the spine is important because it is a high conductor of energy.”

Assistant Health & Fitness Editor

Layout by Ed Kang STOCK PHOTO

IN A fast-paced world it can be hard to find time to relax. Not everyone can afford a yoga class, but we can all take a few minutes to calm down. Studies have shown the positive effects of meditation on the mind and body.

“I think meditation is something that can help us experience life better,” said Nate Guadagni, manager of the Northbrook Body and Brain Yoga Center’s West Linn Studio who teaches yoga and tai chi. “Meditation can be done as an activity by itself—sitting—it can be done within movement, through eating, walking or talking. I think with practice meditation can be applicable to anybody to improve their experience doing anything.”

According to Guadagni, there are three kinds of meditation techniques for people with active minds, are physically

energetic or highly emotional.

The first type of meditation involves reciting a mantra and can be especially helpful for people with busy minds.

“Repeat one word over and over or count the breath,” Guadagni said. “For instance, a four count inhale and a four count exhale can be very beneficial because the mind is engaged.”

People with a highly emotional temperament can benefit from experiencing a feeling while they meditate.

Guadagni suggests holding positive thoughts in your mind and practicing breathing with these feelings.

Physically active and restless people may benefit from movement meditation. Yoga, tai chi and walking are a few ways a person can meditate while keeping his or her body in motion.

Breathe

Guadagni recommends doing a four count inhale and four count exhale. “Simply doing that for a few minutes has been shown to reduce brain waves and reduce blood pressure,” he said.

It is important to find a position you can be relaxed in and continue to concentrate.

Make sure you can sit comfortably for a long time.

Relax your body Once you are in a comfortable position, close your eyes and touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Allow the muscles in your face and feet to relax. This is the hardest part for many people. The more you practice relaxation, the easier it becomes.

Repeat ‘‘Ohm” or another mantra The word “ohm” is considered a calming word. If you find your thoughts wandering and counting is not your thing, replacing your thoughts with “ohm” can steady your mind “The word ‘ohm’ is great; any vowel you can sustain and create a vibration with is good,” Guadagni said. knielsen@chroniclemail.com

20

THE CHRONICLE

I

JANUARY 24, 2011

ARTS & CULTURE I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

subhead

by name position story

photographer THE CHRONICLE

caption

Art virtually anywhere See pg. 24-25 ]

21

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Photo exhibit goes viral

Discovered by local resale collector, Maier’s photos finally recognized

by Matt Watson Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Courtesy CHRISTINE CARRINO

Vivian Maier aimlessly wandered the streets with her camera on her days off, snapping pictures of the world around her. Now her pictures are on display at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

JOHN MALOOF didn’t know what street employers, usually wealthy North Shore

photography was when he purchased several boxes of Vivian Maier’s photographs at the RPN Sales Inc. auction house in 2007.

Maloof, a 29-year-old former Chicago real estate agent, now lives by the term.

Eighty of Maier’s photos are currently on display at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., in an exhibit called “Finding Vivian Maier: Chicago Street Photography,” which runs through April 3. Maloof, a local historian, quit his job and became a full-time archivist of Maier’s work. His efforts put Maier on the map, but he won’t take full credit.

“The story and the photos have gone viral,” Maloof said, referring to the Internet’s ability to spread news rapidly.

Lanny Silverman, curator of exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center, agrees.

“I’ve got people all over the world saying, ‘I saw your WTTW interview on YouTube!’

It’s a phenomenon,” Silverman said.

“I realized this work is special. I didn’t know if it would be acclaimed by experts, but I knew it was special to me.”

-John Maloof

Maier, a reclusive nanny who had a passion for photography, never showed her photographs to anyone. Between 1951 and 1995, Maier walked the streets of Chicago on her days off, photographing what she saw.

According to Maloof, she had no children, love life or known family and kept mostly to herself. He also said there is no evidence she was trained in photography.

She spent time in New York City in the ’50s and also traveled to Egypt, Italy and Manila, among other locations, documenting her time there. Maier lived with her

families, and brought her boxes of film and prints with her to each new home.

When the elderly Maier could no longer afford the storage space where she kept her 100,000-plus prints and negatives, they were sold at auction. Maloof stumbled across the photographs by chance, looking for pictures to put in his book about Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood. After Maloof read Maier’s obituary in the Chicago Tribune in 2009, he uncovered the mystery of the woman behind the camera.

Though Maloof decided he couldn’t use them for his book, the pictures continued to fascinate him.

“I realized this work is special,” he said.

“I didn’t know if it would be acclaimed by experts, but I knew it was special to me.”

Maloof began archiving the photos and scanning the negatives in his free time. With the help of RPN Sales Inc., he was able to find most of the other people who purchased Maier’s work and bought it from them. In the meantime, he started a blog with some of the pictures and linked it to a Flickr discussion group titled “Hardcore Street Photography.” He explained his story and received an outpouring of advice and help, which led him to contact the cultural center.

“When I saw them, I got very excited,” Silverman said. “[Maier] had an incredible eye and a wide range of styles. She incorporated Helen Levitt, Harry Callahan and Diane Arbus, among others.”

While Silverman said the photographs are great, the media attention helped create a buzz surrounding the exhibit.

“I’ve had far bigger and more ambitious shows that I had trouble to even drag out,” Silverman said. “[Sometimes] I couldn’t even get a review for the life of me. Now it’s the other way around.

My wife called her friends in England and told them to check out the photog-

Courtesy CHRISTINE CARRINO

One of Vivian Maier’s many self-portraits, an example of which helped John Maloof discover her mystery.

raphy. They had already seen it in the UK Journal.”

The media buzz has driven attendance at the cultural center since the exhibit opened on Jan. 8.

“It’s been hugely popular,” said Christine Carrino,communications manager at the Chicago Cultural Center. “Critically, the response has been overwhelming. The opening night was packed wall-to-wall.”

Maloof has dedicated himself to sharing Maier’s work and her story with the world.

A documentary film titled “Finding Vivian Maier” is set to come out in 2012. Maloof and Anthony Rydzon, a friend who assisted

Maloof in uncovering Maier’s mystery, are producing the film. The two have created a Web video asking for donations to help with the process and have tripled their goal so far.

“Vivian’s legacy is finally taking shape and it’s beautiful,” Maloof said. “It was almost doomed for the dark abyss of closets from the people [who] bought them. These could have very easily been thrown out.

And it’s amazing they just skimmed by a thread, and now they are renowned as some of the best street photography people have seen in decades.” mwatson@chroniclemail.com

AM

ARTS & CULTURE I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

23

Indie girl selling out, loving it

by Roger Moore MCT Newswire

GRETA GERWIG, 27, last year’s indie film

“it” girl, is all glammed up and almost unrecognizable in her big-budget Hollywood romantic comedy debut, “No Strings Attached.”

“It’s a much slicker me,” Gerwig said. “I’m generally much scruffier. Scruff just happens to me. I don’t pursue it, but if I were a man, I’d have a three-day beard all the time.

But my mom’s very happy about this. She is really happy that I am forced to look nice, all put together and everything. So I’m happy for [my mom.]”

“No Strings Attached” is the latest romantic comedy about a couple (Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher) in which the woman is the one who avoids commitment. Gerwig calls it reflective of her generation.

“It was written by a woman with a very strong, funny voice,” Gerwig said. “The whole idea of a romantic comedy has been on fighting what the movies have always told us that women want—commitment, fulfillment. The comedy comes from not letting that happen. Then there’s marriage or he kisses her and she’s fulfilled and the movie’s over.”

“No Strings” lets her deliver some pretty big laughs, particularly in moments set during the characters’ college years.

“I get to be the aggressive drunk girl,” Gerwig said. “And I like the aggressive drunk girl. She’s always interesting.”

The cute-girl-next-door Gerwig came to most people’s attention in 2010’s downbeat Ben Stiller-Noah Baumbach comedy, “Greenberg,” playing a “scruffy” personal assistant whose self-esteem is so low that she lets the needy yet hostile title character bed her and discard her. But Gerwig was already well into a film career, thanks to the cult appeal of her little-seen but influential and chatty “mumblecore” films: “Baghead,” “Nights and Weekends” and “Hannah Takes the Stairs.”

She acted in all three and co-wrote “Nights” and “Hannah.”

But now, she’s playing with the big boys and girls.

“Go ahead and accuse me of selling out,” Gerwig said. “I don’t think Hollywood wants what I’m selling.”

Gerwig is “entirely authentic and unaffected” in her acting, Peter Bradshaw wrote in Britain’s Guardian newspaper, with “a kind of organic or farmers market acting style ... a naturalness and ease that, right about now, she shares with no other female star.”

Gerwig giggled at that and got a little Page 1 defensive. She hears this “natural” thing all the time. She went to New York’s Barnard College, one of the Seven Sisters—elite private colleges in the Northeast—and as such, NICK

STAHL

JONATHAN

JACKSON

CHRISTOPHER M.

CLARK

one of America’s most exclusive colleges.

She acted and studied playwriting with teachers from Juilliard.And her indie films have had her “so involved with all these other aspects of filmmaking, that I feel I have all these different tools in my acting tool bag.”

She took “No Strings,” she said, because she is a fan of the film’s screenwriter, playwright Elizabeth Meriwether. As for the film’s director, Ivan Reitman, she said she grew up quoting every funny line from “Stripes.”

But with “No Strings Attached” and the upcoming Russell Brand-Helen Mirren remake of the happy drunk comedy “Arthur,” Gerwig finds herself at a crossroads. Acting offers are coming. Is she tempted to give up writing and just cash in, play “the slightly embittered but charmingly so” best friend?

“It’s tempting, but not as the best friend,” Gerwig said. “But it’s not like I’m taking these totally soulless and terrible proj-

ects. Acting with Natalie Portman and Russell Brand and Helen Mirren, these are people I admire. So I’ve never felt I’ve lost my way.”

She just finished filming a comedy by the long-inactive Courtesy MCT NEWSWIRE indie icon Greta Gerwig recently starred in her first Hollywood blockbuster “No Strings Attached.”

Whit Stillman (best known for 1990’s “Metropolitan”).And “I don’t feel complete unless I’m writshe’s still writing, coming up with more ing or working on that next thing I “mumblecore” projects “even though, might direct,” Gerwig said. “I hope that by the time a movement has a name, it’s there’s a path for me that includes all already over.” three—writing, acting and directing. Clint She writes, even when she’s on the Eastwood style!” set of a movie that doesn’t require her writing skills. chronicle@colum.edu ok, so my subs really aren't gourmet and we're not french either. my subs just taste a little better, that's all! I wanted to call it jimmy john's tasty sandwiches, but my mom told me to stick with gourmet.

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Written b y:

Brianna W ellen | D esign by: Ying Ka

u

Cyberspac

raveling around the world, groups of artists, dea ers and buyers fill their calendars with interna tional art fairs, each a new platform for reachin global audiences. In February, they find themselves in Madrid, in April a trip to Brussels, then in June they’re off to Switzerland. Now, the gathering place all year-round can be found in the comfort of their own homes.

The world’s first international art fair to be featured exclusively online is the brainchild of James and Jane Cohan and Jonas and Alessandra Almgren, well-known couples in the global art scene. The Viewing in Private Art Fair went live on Jan. 22, after three years in the making. Through Jan. 30, the fair runs on a 24-hour cycle in which art pieces are viewed, discussed, bought and sold from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. As Chicago galleries join the worldwide experience, the online exhibition format opens up global possibilities for local artists.

In preparation for the fair, VIP Art Fair Directors Stephanie Schumann and Noah Horowitz traveled the world to meet with gallery owners. Instead of sending out a call for work, contributors came on board by invitation. By the end of October 2010, they secured participation from 139 galleries in 30 countries, including Chicago-based Rhona Hoffman Gallery, 118 N. Peoria St., and Donald Young Gallery, 224 S. Michigan Ave. a “We got to travel and sit down with the dealers in their own offices and talk about something that is a totally new medium,” Horowitz said. “It’s a completely new approach to the way the art world works. There’s certainly a quotient of dealers who really want to do things face-to-face or interpersonally or really want to be there on site. The Internet—for them—is something they don’t totally understand or can’t quite grasp.”

Horowitz and Schumann admit it may take a while for dealers, artists and buyers to adopt the technology and F explore everything they can do with the VIP Art Fair because a go it is unfamiliar ground. While the site is open to the public it w for free limited art browsing, paying for a VIP pass allows with the more serious buyer to create online tours, use interactive “E features to better view the art and have access to dealers via one

ARTS & CULTURE I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

25

ce brings global possibilities to local artists

Skype, instant messaging and telephone to discuss works for tweak it,” said Sergio Gomez, creator of Chicago-based that provides technological support for showing art online, sale. A VIP Lounge is available, where commissioned films online gallery VisualArtToday.com and director of 33 Col- to improve its online presence and create a smartphone of private art collections and artists’ studios are shown in lective Gallery, a brick and mortar facility at 1029 W. 35th application. Alyson Koblas, membership and media direcaddition to art market news and more information on new St. “I’ve met with artists who are concerned about that or tor for CAC, said the app will be a way for artists to access works in the fair. concerned about the images being stolen, but that’s the risk their online galleries by phone immediately whenever they According to Horowitz and Schumann, they don’t intend you take and that’s a choice every artist will have to make.” run into someone who is interested in their work. It will to destroy the traditional exhibition and art fair proserve as an important tool and accompaniment to - cess. They look to provide another outlet for galleries online galleries for the general, art-loving public d to utilize. Through the Internet, galleries are able to access, too. to expand their business, start conversations with “They even have a function where if you collectors and provide art education to the public, I don’t think it will ever replace an actual see a piece of art and you have this app you Schumann said. can take a picture of [the art] and [the app] can exhibition, but it essentially becomes identify the artist for you,” Koblas “We firmly believe because it’s free, anyone with an Internet connection can access the fair from anyanother tool in which we can make art said. “I think it’s a couple steps where in the world,” she said. “Because there’s so ahead of what most people are workaccessible to more people.” much excellent educational content on the site, it will ing with technologically, but I think be an important gathering place for anyone interested it’s really going to grow a lot in the -Sergio Gomez next few years.” in contemporary art but also curators, collectors, etc.”

Rhona Hoffman, owner of Rhona Hoffman Gallery, said Gomez first forayed into the world of online art when he Most frequently, those visiting CAC’s online galshe had reservations about the process, but didn’t want to created an interactive Internet presence for 33 Collective Gal- leries on their computer or using their smartphone miss out on a large opportunity if it turned out to be a suc- lery. Today, the gallery’s artists use this format to showcase were able to contact local artists to commission cess. Her gallery’s contribution to the fair is an exhibition art and increase their audience. After new online exhibitions and buy specific works. According to Koblas, solely of Spencer Finch’s work. Finch is a New York-based premiere annually, they remain there permanently. Approxi- CAC’s exhibitions stay offline. It better fits their artist who works in painting, photography, installations mately two years ago, he developed VisualArtToday.com. mission to physically engage the community in and mixed media.

While creating the site it was important to create a space face-to-face conversations about art.

“I think it’s a clever idea,” Hoffman said. “I’m in wait- without the clutter of online advertisements, Gomez said.

Horowitz and Schumann see their online venand-see mode.”

Because space is more widely available on a website than a ture as a complement to the physical art fairs and gallery, there is no time frame for each exhibition and the exhibitions across the world. Now that the founimages will remain available for public viewing on a perma- dation of the new business has been built, they nent basis. To keep the site as true to life to a physical gallery plan to host VIP Art Fairs annually and explore It’s a completely new and maintain his vision, Gomez funds the site completely other undisclosed projects utilizing the Internet, on his own.

Horowitz said. approach to the way the Along with every image, it’s important for him to also “It’s broadly available to a general, art-loving public, include artists’ statements and written content provided by whether they’re serious collectors or professionally involved art world works.” a curator or historian—some available in multiple languages curators, or whether they’re simply students or people with a to accommodate the site’s varied audience. To Gomez, an passing curiosity in contemporary art,” he said. “It’s a really -Noah Horowitz obvious appeal for online galleries is the global interaction incredible and democratic platform.”

For those already familiar with an artist, the virtual world is and diversity that is achieved.

To participate in the fair, request an invitation at ood venue to buy art, according to Hoffman, but she said “I don’t think it will ever replace an actual exhibition, but VIPArtFair.com/Open/Request. Art will be featured online would be foolish to purchase a work the buyer is unfamiliar it essentially becomes another tool in which we can make art until Jan. 30 at 6:59 a.m. VIP passes cost $20 and limited h based on what he or she sees on the computer screen. accessible to more people,” he said. browsing of the fair is free.

Every monitor is different, and you cannot expect everyThe Chicago Artists Coalition, 2010 W. Pierce Ave., recentis looking at the same thing no matter how much you ly teamed up with Collectrium, a New York-based company Bwellen@chronicle.com

alang n ff n

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26

THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

CHICAGO AUDIOFILE TIELA HALPIN, PHOTO EDITOR JOE TEX // I GOTCHA FIREWATER // BORNEO APRIL MARCH // CHICK HABIT WILD BEASTS // DEVIL’S CRAYON

AMANDA MURPHY, ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR JOY DIVISION // DIGITAL THE CURE // CLOSE TO ME YEASAYER // ONE RA RA RIOT // WINTER ‘05

Courtesy ADRIAN KOBZIAR

SAM CHARLES, ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR

Ithaca rocks out at Legion Underground, 570 S. Gary Ave. in Carol Stream, Ill., in October 2010.

Ithaca rocks next level

YIM YAMES // MY SWEET LORD WIZ KHALIFA // HEY GIRL LOU REED // SWEET JANE MUMFORD AND SONS // LITTLE LION MAN

by Matt Watson

AK: And what we mean by progressive is we try to take our music and our so-called genre and progress that beyond what everyAFTER PLAYING its biggest show yet on Dec. one else is doing. You can’t really classify us.

18 at the Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwau- We’re progressive heavy rock ’n’ roll. kee Ave., Ithaca sets its sights on the future.

The progressive heavy-metal band calls The Chronicle: What do you guys do to itself local, but with the help of social net- promote yourselves? working and self-promotion they’re known across the country. Singer Chris Blume and CB: It’s really hard because we like to be guitarist Adrian Kobziar sat down with The frontal people and actually meet people, Chronicle to discuss success, inspiration but we haven’t been able to go on a tour or and their new EP “1920[2].” anything. So it’s really just social networking and giving out our music for free.

The Chronicle: When did you start Ithaca?

AK: Everyone’s got a fancy Facebook or Adrian Kobziar: Ithaca started about a year MySpace page now. How did bands make ago. Officially it came out in April, so we’ve it 20 years ago when there was no Internet? They went to shows and talked to been a band since April 2010. people, gave out free music. You can’t The Chronicle: Why the name Ithaca? just sit on the Internet and expect things to happen.

AK: Well, if you have read the story “The Odyssey,” it’s paradise; it’s where [Odys- The Chronicle: Who do you make seus’] wife and children are, so it’s home— music for? home is where the heart is.

AK: I make music for myself and for my The Chronicle: What are some of band because I know we all love it and for your inspirations? people [who] want to hear it.

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor

MINA BLOOM, ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 // LITTLE GIRL FUGAZI // WAITING ROOM SLEIGH BELLS // RILL RILL BLONDE REDHEAD // 23

Week ending Jan. 18, 2011

#1 Album

Top tracks

( ) Last week’s ranking in top five

United States Hold It Against Me • Britney Spears

(2) 1

Firework • Kate Perry

(3) 3

Grenade • Bruno Mars Country Strong Various artists

Tonight • Enrique Iglesias

The Time • Black Eyed Peas

(1) 2 (5) 4 (3) 5

United Kingdom Grenade • Bruno Mars

Rolling In the Deep • ADELE Doo-Wops and Hooligans Bruno Mars

(1) 1 2

CB: We never made music saying, “Everyone’s going to like this.” When we write it, we [say], “This is sick.”

Chris Blume: Some of them we don’t agree on, so we bring it all to the table and it mashes together really well.

The Chronicle: Was headlining at the Congress Theater intimidating at all?

Do It Like a Dude • Jesse J

(2) 3

Lights On • Katy B

(4) 5

The Chronicle: Who writes the music for the band?

Hold It Against Me • Britney Spears

(1) 1

Only Girl (In the World) • Rihanna

(3) 3

AK: Well, I write it by ear from guitar. Then I’ll usually record it, listen to it, modify it and record it again and give it to everybody to write their parts to it.

What’s My Name? • Rihanna & Drake

(3) 4

Spain The Time • Black Eyed Peas Via Dalma Sergio Dalma

AK: We all have bands and musical talents that inspire us, but what really inspires us is ourselves and our drive to be better.

Barbra Streisand • Duck Sauce Loca • Shakira Source: iTunes

(2) 2 (4) 4 5

© 2011 MCT

Follow The Chronicle on

CB: Everyone gets a say in what other parts go on. If I don’t like something he’s doing, I tell him. If he doesn’t like something I’m doing, he tells me. Sometimes we don’t agree on it, and you have to stick to something because that’s the only way it happens.

The Chronicle: What genre do you classify yourselves as?

www.twitter.com/ccchronicle

CB: It was a little bit.

AK: Yeah, but I’m just thinking, “Whoa dude, I saw my favorite band on this stage.”

And it’s insane to be where they’re standing, spitting where they were spitting.

CB: It was the most fun I’ve ever had.

The Chronicle: What is your ultimate goal for Ithaca?

CB: Honestly, the only way I would be happy is to see myself on stage with thousands of people singing the same words I am. The first time I get that, I’ll probably break down and cry.

CB: Obviously it’s metal and heavy. But if you put heavy metal on it, people think beards and Iron Maiden shirts and stuff like that. So you can’t classify us as that.

AK: When people idolize you—like, “Dude, I want to go see that band!”—that’s when you know you’ve made it.

Ithaca’s next Congress Theater show will be on Feb. 12. Tickets are $10. To listen to tracks

by Ithaca, visit its Facebook page.

mwatson@chroniclemail.com

ARTS & CULTURE I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

27

FILM REVIEW

Doomed film sees light of day After being derailed from straight-to-DVD fast track, film rides coattails of stars’ success

by Drew Hunt Film Critic INITIALLY COMPLETED in 2009 and originally

titled “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits,” “The Other Woman” is Natalie Portman’s de facto follow-up to the much-lauded “Black Swan.” In the film, she stars as the wayward Emilia, a newlywed grieving the sudden death of her infant daughter while attempting to win the affection of her husband’s 8-year-old son Will—played by Charlie Tahan. Making matters more complicated is Jack’s embittered ex-wife—played by Lisa Kudrow—who consistently denigrates Emilia and labels her a homewrecker.

One of the more interesting aspects of “Black Swan” was the way Portman’s character Nina—and Nina’s delusional push and pull between a pair of polemic personas—reflected the actress’s career to date.

Despite some brave efforts in films like “Closer,” the actress is often pegged as a daintily timid entity. However, Aronofksy’s psychosexual thriller sees Portman diving head first into grittiness and physicality completely unbecoming of her character’s virtuous demeanor.

This change of style left a considerable imprint, which was evident in her recent receipt of a Golden Globe Award and her imminent Oscar nomination. “The Other Woman,” with its mawkish premise and aimless direction, should do little in the

“The Other Woman” Starring: Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow Director: Don Roos Rating: Now playing on OnDemand’s IFC service.

way of curbing that buzz.

Writer/director Don Roos does little to elevate his film above the level of mere melodrama. Despite the seemingly high stakes he presents, Roos consistently fails to hit the marks he should be striving for.

The end result is nothing short of lazy, somewhere in the realm of a Lifetime TV drama. One of narrative storytelling’s main functions is to answer the question: “Why should we care?”—as in why should we, the audience, invest ourselves emotionally and intellectually into the characters and story presented to us.

For this film, Roos clearly doesn’t have an answer to that question. Aimless introspection is all he offers.

Quite possibly—or rather, most assuredly—the only reason the film receives theatrical distribution is an attempt to cash in on the buzz surrounding Portman and her performance in “Black Swan.” “The Other Woman,” with its absurdly rigid characterization and lack of thematic resonance, wouldn’t stand a chance at seeing a wide audience otherwise.

However, thanks to “Black Swan,” we have the benefit of hindsight. Despite the

Courtesy IMDB

Natalie Portman won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for her role in “Black Swan.”

film’s many flaws, Portman stands out as the single bastion of conviction in “The Other Woman.” Her performance is brimming with effort—but not the kind of effort that suggests a strain on her behalf to save a sinking ship of a film. Rather, it’s a workmanlike approach and an earnest attempt to inject some real emotion into a lifeless character.

For all its complacency, “The Other Woman” is occasionally quite provocative.

Class and social structures are explored in refreshingly frank ways and Portman’s young stepson’s existential musings on the afterlife are, too. In the film’s climax, Portman reveals the source of her discontent to be her guilt regarding her daughter’s death,which she blames on herself—and for good reason. While clearly an accident, the film sheds enough ambiguity on the situa-

tion to suggest Portman may have held her daughter a little too tightly while they slept in her bed one night.

Yet these moments are few and far between and never attain even an ounce of reflexivity. Still, Portman evokes a sternness that the film’s other actors can only hope to muster. In a backward way, this wouldbe failure actually bolsters Portman’s performance in “Black Swan.” Her ability to do so much with so little is a testament to the remarkable strength she can bring to the screen.

Of course, she is set to star in what is sure to be the absolutely God-awful “Thor,” Marvel’s latest contribution to the continual dumbing down of American society. So who can be sure? ahunt@chroniclemail.com

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Courtesy BROOKS GOLDEN

Visual artist Brooks Golden was in Nicolette Caldwell’s graffiti exhibit at Columbia last year. His work is now featured on the website of Caldwell and her co-founder’s organization, Sixty Inches from Center.

Future art historians rejoice Organization works to develop Chicago art archive, collective projects

by Mina Bloom Arts & Culture Editor WHILE ATTENDING countless gallery openings

and meeting a slew of local artists, recent Columbia alumnae Nicolette Caldwell and Tempestt Hazel became acutely aware of what they call the city’s “peripheral visual culture.”

Much of the work Caldwell and Hazel tended to gravitate toward was unknown or deemed not fit to hang on the walls of one of Chicago’s esteemed art institutions, said Hazel, who received an art history degree from Columbia.

Rather than letting artists’ hyperlocalness serve as a detriment, the pair developed a nonprofit organization in 2009 called

Sixty Inches from Center: The Chicago Arts Archive and Collective Project to celebrate underrepresented artists in the city.

Ultimately, the exposure led to other opportunities. Namely, they are now artistic directors for an art program on WBEZFM this upcoming summer.

“We were seeing all this amazing stuff and meeting all these amazing people and not everybody knows about it,” said Caldwell, who works full time at an apartment rental agency. “After graduation we could still be engaged in the art community and make a place for ourselves, especially at a time where there aren’t many entry-level positions in the arts.”

The name of the organization, which was directly borrowed from the name of Caldwell’s exhibit at her time spent at Columbia, refers to the gap between the typical gallery and the art institution, Caldwell said. However, there are no real-

requirements to be featured on the site.

“What we really are trying to do is give a voice back to the artists,” said Hazel, who currently works for The Department of Cultural Affairs as the program coordinator for Studio Chicago, outreach coordinator for Chicago Artists Resource and promotions coordinator for Chicago Artists Month.

“Some of the artists we’re meeting with or talking to have shown [their work] at the Museum of Contemporary Art, for example.

But we’re trying to connect with them and their work and not necessarily the show they have in that space.”

Because of their art history degrees, Hazel and Caldwell think of themselves as curators. They considered using the site as a tool in the future when designing the site’s mission.

“We wanted to start getting a better idea of what’s actually going on in Chicago to hopefully, down the road, find some trends we didn’t notice,” Caldwell said.

An archive of local artists’ work also didn’t exist online before they founded their organization. Now a team of contributors post interviews—audio, video or print—with artists, curators, gallerists and the like every Monday morning, serving as a way to track artists’ development.

“Another one of our efforts is to get the Chicago artists archived so they can be referenced in a serious way by future art historians or current art historians,” Hazel added. “We’re working on different ways to approach that and be serious about that.”

A few artists featured on the site include Jamie Lynn Henderson, one of seven participants in the Chicago Artists’ Coalition residency program; Mark Moleski,who uses different mediums, including ink and paper; and painter Rhonda Grey.

At Columbia, Hazel said a lot of the infor-

mation they interacted with as students was information written by art critics, art writers and scholars.

“We try to give the microphone back to the artist, so a lot of content is words directly from the artist or the curator’s mouth,” Hazel said. “We try to remove that editorial tone.”

Less than 20 people visited the site when it first launched. Now, 120 people visit it weekly. In May, Caldwell and Hazel plan to host an event, which remains slightly ambiguous in execution for the time being.

“One half of the organization is the documentation or the archive and the other half is the collective project,” Hazel said. “[It’s] ways in which we’ll try to bring the art community together and do something.”

Brooks Golden, a visual artist who participated in Caldwell’s graffiti exhibit with the same name, is featured on the organization’s website. Golden primarily paints, though he draws, sculpts and does graffiti as well and has for the past 10 years. He works the graveyard shift in the service industry but cites art as his full-time job.

Golden said he met Caldwell through an e-mail call for artists in October 2009.

Recently having shown his work at the C33 Gallery, 33 E. Congress Parkway; Sapere Art Gallery, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave.; and 32nd & Urban, 3201 S. Halsted St., Golden is no stranger to the Chicago gallery scene.

Still, Sixty Inches from Center’s mission appeals to him on a personal level.

“If there’s not some sort of monetary pull people are less likely to pursue it, but this feels genuine to me, which is the only reason I’m involved.”

Visit SixtyInchesfromCenter.org to interact with the website’s content or to contribute. hbloom@chroniclemail.com

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‘Mumbai Diaries’ pairs director, husband Despite fame, actor’s wife makes him work to get cast in movie

by Susan King MCT Newswire

MOST INDIAN directors would consider it

a major coup to cast Aamir Khan in one of their films. After all, he’s one of India’s biggest stars (“Lagaan,” “Taare Zameen Par”), not to mention a noted director and savvy producer (“Peepli Live”). But his wife, Kiran Rao, didn’t want her husband to play a character in her feature film directorial and writing debut, “Dhobi Ghat,” known in English as “Mumbai Diaries” and opened on Jan. 21 in the United States and India.

Instead, she wanted to cast unknowns in the drama, which centers on an introverted painter stinging from his recent divorce and separation from his son. His life ends up being intertwined with three vastly different people. (Dhobi Ghat, a popular tourist attraction in Mumbai, is considered the world’s largest outdoor laundry.)

“She didn’t want me,” Khan said by phone from Mumbai, formerly Bombay. “That was very disappointing for me. I loved the script and I was really moved by it and impressed by her writing. When I started speaking about casting and with myself in mind, she said, ‘I don’t want any of the four [roles] to be cast with known actors because I don’t want the actors to have any baggage at all when they walk into the film.’”

Rao also wanted to shoot the film on location in Mumbai, and she feared she couldn’t

Courtesy IMDB

After much convincing, director Kiran Rao allowed her husband actor Aamir Khan (above) to star in her film.

do that because residents would recognize Khan and cause disruptions.

“I wanted the film to be honest,” she said.

“We were shooting in the streets of Bombay.

I wanted to show the city the way it really is.”

Khan produced the movie, in a bit of a role reversal for the couple: Rao was an assistant director on “Lagaan” and “Monsoon Wedding” and produced “Taare Zameen Par” and “Peepli Live.” But Khan was unhappy he wouldn’t be in his wife’s first film.

“I was hoping she would change her mind,” he recalled. “As the casting went along, she couldn’t find the actor she had in mind.”

He even did a test. “‘Perhaps it would give you an idea when you work with me as to what you can do with the character,’” he told his wife. “That was my oblique way of trying to get my foot in the door.”

And eventually, the door opened and he was cast.

Khan plays the role of the painter, Arun, who encounters Shai (Monica Dogra), a wealthy U.S. investment banker of Indian heritage on sabbatical in the metropolis.

They meet at the opening of his new show, and she spends the night with him.

Shai has decided to photograph various aspects of Mumbai culture. She meets and befriends Munna (Prateik Babbar), a hand-

some washer man or dhobi who delivers laundry to Shai and Arun’s homes and wants to become an actor. And there’s Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra), the previous tenant of Arun’s new apartment, who left behind videotapes of her life, which Arun soon becomes obsessed with watching.

Rao said the film began to percolate around 2005, the same year she married Khan.

“I started with a couple of small ideas trying to string them together,” she said.

“One of the ideas was a dhobi who wants to be an actor and who has this relationship with this girl from a completely other world, and the other was a story of a man, who in shifting houses, comes across what the previous tenant left behind. I had the final script ready in 2008. I was lucky to have that much time for it to distill and grow.”

Although English is Khan’s first language, “Mumbai Diaries” marks the first time he’s spoken it on the big screen. He’s always spoken in Hindi.

“To be totally accurate to his character, he would never have spoken in Hindi,” Khan said. “I speak English all the time. I only speak Hindi when I talk to someone who doesn’t understand English.”

Rao said it was a lot of fun directing her husband in the film, and he said he was equally satisfied.

“It was great working with Kiran,” he said. “She is very honest. That is what’s really her strength.” chronicle@colum.edu

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144JBTS11

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Folk-rock meets classical Musical partnership combines traditional, free form playing

by Rebecca J. Ritzel MCT Newswire TO EVEN the playing field between a folk

guitarist and a classical pianist, ask the guitarist to read music and the pianist to improvise. That’s what happened last month when singer-songwriter Tift Merritt and concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein began preparing for two concerts they presented last weekend at Duke University in Durham, N.C. You could say they fell back on the common language they know: music. But that would be sentimentalizing and oversimplifying a rehearsal process both artists describe as a challenge unlike any they have encountered in their careers.

That’s because Merritt, a North Carolina native, learned to sing and play guitar by ear, while Dinnerstein, a classical musician, has been sight-reading since the age of 7.

Together, after much compromise and a little consternation, they have prepared an 80-minute set list called “Night.”

“It’s been a huge learning process for both of us,” Dinnerstein said.

Merritt and Dinnerstein met about two years ago when Gramophone, the British magazine, was looking for someone outside of classical music to interview Dinnerstein before the release of her second album. Dinnerstein and Merritt hit it off so quickly

Courtesy MCT Newswire

Simone Dinnerstein, a classical pianist, discovered another side of music while playing with Tift Merrit.

they closed the Gramophone Q-and-A by saying they hoped to collaborate. A few months later, Dinnerstein gave a recital in Durham and noticed Aaron Greenwald, the director of Duke Performances, booked genre-defying artists. She told him she and Merritt had an idea. “[Greenwald] made it happen,” Dinnerstein said.

Word of the collaboration got out, and three venues in Florida and California have booked the duo to perform this month.

In Durham, Merritt will try out a few new songs and Dinnerstein will play new arrangements of classical works and premiere variations on the Cohen song

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Opening Reception: January 27th, 5-8 pm Phillip Chen and Tomas Vu Lecture: 6:30 pm, 623 S. Wabash, Room 109 This exhibition is sponsored by the Art + Design Department and The School of Fine and Performing Arts at Columbia College Chicago.

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“Suzanne.” Then there are the duets, commissioned songs by Patty Griffin, Philip Lasser and Brad Mehldau, plus four complete re-imaginings of opera arias and classical art songs.

Their re-imagining of Schubert’s “Nacht und Traume” began with Dinnerstein translating the 1825 text into English.

Then Merritt “changed the words into something contemporary and I changed the rhythm to support what she was singing,” Dinnerstein said.

During one verse the piano picks up the melody and Merritt picks up the harmonica.

“The song is like country blues meets Schubert, and it’s totally gorgeous,”

Dinnerstein said.

To compensate for her difficulty reading scores—Merritt would record and take copious notes during their rehearsals in Brooklyn, where both women live.

“The next day she’d come in and have totally absorbed everything from the day before,” Dinnerstein said.

Learning folk-rock and reworking classics didn’t come easily to Dinnerstein.

“I’ve been reading a chord chart and trying to improvise, and that’s something that I’ve never done before,” she said.

Both musicians said preparing for the Duke concert has profoundly changed how they approach performing. The week after rehearsals, Merritt was in the recording studio and Dinnerstein was in Ottawa, playing a Bach concerto with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra.

“I thought about Tift when I was up there [on stage],” Dinnerstein said. “She’s so passionate, and working with her, I felt free, like I didn’t have to worry about the details involved with being a classical musician.”

Merritt was alone in the studio recording demos, but finding freedom through her newfound knowledge of music theory.

“I’m preparing in a different way than I ever had before,” Merritt said. “I’ve never rehearsed quite like I have with Simone ...

It gives me this new way of looking at my own songs and realizing, ‘Wow, there are so many more choices.’”

Does she intend to start practicing “like, eight hours a day,” as Dinnerstein does?

No. But Merritt hopes they’ll be rehearsing together again this time next year, preparing for another tour or even a recording.

“When you start a band, you don’t want to quit it,” Merritt said. chronicle@colum.edu

K N I H T

ARTS & CULTURE I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

“A” To Zepeda

Stars, signs in your mind DISCUSSIONS ABOUT

a life-altering change in the astrological field have entered several facets of society lately. While at a restaurant, I realized how big a

by Benita Zepeda deal the new star Managing Editor sign Ophiuchus was when a waiter commented on how he knew he wasn’t a Leo. In the middle of his complaints about no longer being a Virgo, another waiter casually walked by and stopped at our table to enthusiastically join in on the anti-Ophiuchus bashing.

However, the panic and recent soul searching is caused by basic misunderstandings.

First of all, there are two different types of zodiac charts—tropical and sidereal.

The tropical zodiac chart is what most Western astrologers use, and this remains unchanged. This is great news for those who started to question everything they learned about their star sign’s personality traits. When astronomers commented on the altered star alignment, the change affected the Eastern sidereal zodiac.

Ophiuchus didn’t appear out of nowhere.

The snake bearer was first introduced when the zodiac signs were decided more than 3,000 years ago. But with the recent announcement that tropical zodiac signs as we’ve known them have changed, many astrologers and avid horoscope junkies aren’t taking the time to explore what this announcement actually means.

Aside from not understanding the difference between Eastern and Western astrology, many people in society are not recogniz-

ing the difference between what astrology and astronomy is. Just as science doesn’t mesh with religion, astrology, the divination of the supposed influence of stars, and astronomy, the study of objects and matter in space, cannot mix.

It doesn’t matter whether one believes horoscopes influence daily actions because it all comes down to belief. Although, many can argue personality traits for their corresponding star sign are quite accurate, others see them as vague. It comes down to having the factual support of science or abstract belief. It’s sort of like the cliched question, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Is there one person who can confirm or deny these astrological claims to be true? No, and there won’t be either.

Call me a skeptic, but when I first heard about this, I didn’t believe my star sign switched from Gemini to Taurus just because the alignment of stars did. Nor do I believe that my life revolves around what my horoscope tells me. Zodiac is pure entertainment mixed with wishful thinking to many who can’t quite commit to (insert a religious sect here).

I also don’t believe just because I identify as a Gemini when someone asks me what my sign is, it makes me a hypocrite to not fully believe in astrology. I enjoy opinions based on facts, which is in the vein of science. But I’ll admit I’ll continue to believe in things that cannot be fully explained or supported by facts such as religion. Perhaps I can blame my indecisiveness on how Geminis are, according to Tarot.com, an “entanglement of paradoxes” with an ability to “have an easy acceptance of opposites.” bzepeda@chroniclemail.com

Game jam inspires design Worldwide event creative, expands video game industry

by Stanley A. Miller II MCT Newswire DESIGNING A fun video game is challeng-

ing enough with big budgets, generous timetables and veteran professionals. Try it with no money, developers with varying experience and 48 hours to get the job done.

That’s the premise of the Global Game Jam, a worldwide event beginning on Jan. 28 that challenges game enthusiasts to quickly create electronic, board or card games for public consumption.

The annual event, now in its third year, lures game-makers from all across the world, and this year Milwaukee is hosting its first Game Jam site at the Milwaukee Area Technical College.

“The students came to us and said this was going on,” said Emil Harmsen, Milwaukee’s jam organizer and a part-time instructor at MATC. “We looked at it and said, ‘Wow this fits right into our program.’ It will allow them to see how well they can compete and how their skill sets stack up globally.”

The Global Game Jam gives volunteer designers a theme—and some limitations—announced just before the event and then two straight days to finish their submissions. The goal, organizers say, is to tap into aspiring talent and creativity to help the game industry grow.

The legion of game jammers is grow-

ing steadily: The first drew more than 1,600 participants in 23 countries and produced 370 games, and last year had more than 4,300 designers generating about 900 games.

Harmsen, who is also the owner of Forever Interactive, a local game studio, will be the studio chief for MATC’s jam site and be responsible for organizing the talent into balanced teams.

Milwaukee’s jam—with nearly 150 others in 43 countries—will start off with brainstorming sessions after the theme is announced. Then it’s up to the teams to transform their ideas into working software.

“We really have to take that theme and build off it,” Harmsen said. “We will sit down with a whiteboard and hash it out. We will work at building the framework, and the design will evolve based on how well the game is playing as we are building it.”

Although technical skills are an important part of the Global Game Jam, Kevin Harris, who is organizing a Madison, Wis. site, noted non-techie jammers can contribute to a project by helping with design aesthetic, game testing and writing documentation. The addition of board game design might attract a few more non-techie types.

“Game jams promote a sense of community,” Harris said. “People can come together and create a game, and that is a powerful experience for people who have not done that before.” chronicle@colum.edu

N O I T FIC

31

G N I T WRI If you’re creative and interested in story and writing, check out the award-winning Fiction Writing Department. Our courses will improve your writing, reading, speaking, listening, and creative problem-solving skills.

Useful for every major!

For information visit Oasis* or the Fiction Writing Department, 12th floor, 624 S. Michigan, or call (312) 369-7611. *You can add classes online until 12 midnight 1.30.11 on Oasis. See your department advisor with questions.

COME JOIN US! A good place to start is Fiction 1 Writing Workshop

Classes available in: •Short Stories •Novels •Creative Nonfiction •Graphic Novels •Freelance Writing

•Playwriting •Script Forms •Sci-Fi Thriller •Fiction & Film

See http://www.colum.edu/Academics/Fiction_Writing/

THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Amanda Murphy/Assistant Campus Editor

Sam Charles/Assistant Campus Editor

Shardae Smith/Assistant Campus Editor

Internet cat videos of 2010

Why Chicago winters aren’t so bad

Why I love being Khouri’s mom

“Secret Kitten”: There really isn’t a better surprise than a kitten. This video starts off cute because it already has three kittens, but when another one enters the picture it becomes too much to handle. Perhaps the best part is the expression on the hidden kitten’s face.

“Holly Meets Her Doppelganger!”: Mirror plus cat usually ends in something good. What makes this truly delightful is the kitten’s dedication to finding her reflection in the mirror. She even looks behind the mirror in hopes of finding her new friend.

“Happy Inside – Ikea Cats advert”: This one is a professionally done U.K. Ikea advertisement.

The artistic direction of this video definitely gives a whole new name to cat videos. It’s more than 100 cats and kittens roaming around an Ikea after hours. They fight, cuddle, go into places they shouldn’t and all around have a grand time.

“Cute Cats Playing Patty Cake!”: It’s hard to imagine but the title explains the video perfectly. It is two cats sitting on a table playing pattycake with each other. Their facial expressions of boredom make this already delightful video even better.

“Keyboard Cat plays off 2010”: A nice way to say goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011 is this keyboard cat rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.” The video is adorable with the cat sporting 2011 glasses, a party hat and a crooked bow tie.

Summer concert announcements: Aside from the usual New Year’s Eve shows, there isn’t much of a music scene here during winter, and that makes it the perfect time to get ready for all the bands you’ll see when the weather gets better. I’m already looking forward to seeing Of Montreal on Cinco de Mayo.

I found my soulmate: Of course every mother loves her child, but I also found my soulmate.

I found the person who completes me in every way, shape and form. She’s cute, smart and has every bit of my personality. I couldn’t ask for more. Well, maybe just a few more hours of sleep on Saturday.

Icy sidewalks: What better way to improve your balance and reaction time than by risking life and limb on a daily basis? Chicago sidewalks are perfect for ice hockey or figure skating practice when you can’t find time to get to a rink.

Excuses: I won’t lie; I occasionally use being a mother to get a pass. Last week I was able to get a parking spot by saying, “It’s too cold for me to walk with my toddler.” She wasn’t even in the car.

(More) crowded el trains: During the summer, morning rush hour turns the trains into a sauna, but they’re perfect for getting warm during the winter months. And the more crowded they become, the warmer they are. Get cozy and make some new friends.

I’m a MILF: I’m only 23 years old and I’m hot.

I definitely use it to my advantage. I think my baby weight looks good on me. Khouri and I stay fly and ahead of the game.

Financial: It’s rough being a single mother, but I make ends meet. I love spending all my monSalt stains on your pants: The salt might not ey on toys and clothes (I’m addicted), and I’m do much to rid the sidewalks of ice, but it can not afraid of going without for what she wants. give your pants a sweet, retro acid-wash look, But school and tax refunds are sure to come in and who wouldn’t want that? Nothing matches handy this semester. denim quite like sidewalk salt.

Time management: I’m supermom. She gives Cabin fever: When it’s too cold to go outside, me the power to feel like I can do anything. I your dorm building, apartment or parents’ work 40 hours a week, I’m enrolled for 20 credhouse can offer a lot to fend off boredom. Mak- it hours and I still am able to find time to read ing blanket forts and watching old “Law and her a book every night. I can set an example Order” DVDs can be just the trick to keeping and show others there is no reason not to excel your sanity. in everything you do. Yes, I toot my own horn.

Sam Text O’Reilly, sophomore, fashion design major Photog as THEmuch CHRONICLE “I pay attention to function as fashion. I bike every day, but I also don’t want to look like a slob.”

Shirt: outdoors store, $30; Jeans: APC, $160; Shoes: Vans Authentic, $40

Brittany Sanders, freshman, fashion design major “It’s what I feel. Some days I wear men’s slacks and blouses. I’m not afraid to wear anything.”

Jacket: Handmade from thrifted items; Shoes: BCBG, gift; Bag: Juicy Couture, $130 Photos Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

32

markhoppus With great regret, I must announce that after nearly 6 months of dedicated service, the time has come to wash my pants.

11:54 am Jan. 20

Lord_Voldemort7 #rulesformen find a lady that knows how to ride a “broomstick.”

10:19 am Jan. 20

ConanOBrien I’m either a) extremely gullible or b) about to eat a sandwich made with organic Spam.

12:51 pm Jan. 19

RainnWilson If Gullivers Travels were in 4D, with lasers and smoke and surround sound, I would see it in a heartbeat.

3:40 pm Jan. 20

MrDonaldGlover You’d be surprised at what a girl will do if you call it an “art project.”

12:47 pm Jan. 20

ARTS & CULTURE I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

Nothin’

Could be worse...

Not bad, not bad

I’m feelin’ this

33

HOT HOT HOT

PRINT

“THE PACKAGE DEAL” BY IZZY ROSE

“PALO ALTO STORIES” BY JAMES FRANCO

“NASTY” BY DR. XYZ

Izzy Rose, an Emmy award-winning TV producer, fell in love with the man of her dreams, but just like in real life, nothing ever goes exactly as planned. Hank, Izzy’s true love, came with two sons and an ex-wife. Izzy tells the story of becoming a step mom overnight and learning how to embrace her new role and overcome its challenges.

Her writing style is hilarious and filled with great tips for step moms new and old.—B. Reinhart

After hearing James Franco wrote a book of short stories, my curiosity was killing me. Sure, he’s a talented actor and one of the most gorgeous men alive, but can he write? While he can indeed write, his stories aren’t satisfying in the least. They lack the creative edge I was expecting. Plus, one too many of the tales involve someone getting hit by a car.—B. Wellen

I’m a huge fan of erotica, and it’s not too often I find a book filled with good sex and a lesson learned. I read “Nasty” by Dr. XyZ in its entirety from the Kindle app on my Android 2. This book, from the Zane Presents series, was everything I expected and more. It’s lustful, morbid and focuses on family situations that may never happen but are entertaining nonetheless. As it turns out, Dr. XyZ is an actual physician, so you learn a few things hidden between all the “Nasty” stuff.—S. Smith

REDLETTERMEDIA

“GLEE”

“NO STRINGS ATTACHED”

The original “Star Wars” trilogy is classic. The prequels, however, leave a few things to be desired: plot, character development and logic, for starters. Viral video reviews from RedLetterMedia featuring a reclusive critic known as Plinkett take no mercy on the films and their creator, George Lucas. Plinkett criticizes Lucas for destroying a treasured part of pop culture. Throw in cut scenes of girls tied up in his basement and you’ve got very entertaining and insightful reviews.—T. Halpin

As a former show choir “gleek,” I’m sure that watching “Glee” on FOX has inspired many young students to become whoever they strive to be. As Chris Colfer, the actor who portrays Kurt on “Glee,” said as he accepted his Golden Globe Award: “But mostly importantly [a thank you] to all the amazing kids [who] watch our show and that our show celebrates and are constantly told ‘no’ [by] people and environments and bullies at school, [who] they can’t be who they are or can’t have what they want because of who they are.”—K. Franzen

Take time out of your week to see the romantic comedy “No Strings Attached,” starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. The film poses the question whether a guy and girl can have a strictly sexual relationship without developing feelings for each another.

Director Ivan Reitman, the man behind the cult classics “Animal House” and “Ghostbusters,” blends elements of screwball humor and romance in this lighthearted flick. The only problem with the two friends’ sex pact is: What do you do when love gets in the way?—M. Gray

RECKLESS RECORDS

“HOLD IT AGAINST ME” BY BRITNEY SPEARS

MOVIES / TV / DVD

MUSIC

EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS

Songs like “Home” and “Up From Below” from their 2009 selftitled release made a splash this winter when the band snagged a few late night talk show appearances that allowed this unique old-souled group to deliver their eclectic sound to a much larger audience. After hearing “Home” this fall, it immediately became my song of the moment and gained a spot on my regular rotation on my iPod. If you enjoy being happy, this band is worth a listen.—H. McGraw

Where else are you going to find an original pressing of “Who’s Next” and “Wish You Were Here” for only $5.99 each? The three city locations of the record shop that inspired “High Fidelity” always offer some awesome deals on hard-to-find records. It’s hipster heaven. But they can’t seem to get a copy of Kanye’s new album. Tsk, tsk.—S. Charles

Britney’s back with a vengeance. Her latest single is rockin’ the charts and is getting a lot of play time in the clubs. Sure, her voice may be computerized, but I just want to jump around when that bass kicks in. The chorus, “If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?”, reminds us all about Britney’s genius application of double meaning. I give Britney the double thumbs up on her latest hit. I can’t wait to see what the rest of her likely techno-ridden album will have in store.—K. Nielsen

RANDOM

OLD RED AND BLUE 3-D GLASSES

GAWKER SITE REDESIGNS

FINGER MOUSTACHES

3-D cinema is making a huge comeback since it was first overused in the ’60s. However, something is missing: the nostalgic and iconic red and blue 3-D glasses everyone knows and loves. I don’t give a crap about the new polarized technology. Give me the old, colored cellophane lenses back. Then we can stop trying to take 3-D movies so seriously and accept them for the overproduced popcorn movies they are.—J. Allen

They’re just awful. Gawker is taking all of my favorite blogs and making them look like crap. Under the new designs, every site’s front page will have one full main story on it with a list of tiny headlines to the right. Somebody needs to tell them that the current system looks just fine. Not everything has to look like Twitter to be successful.—L. Wilusz

It’s back in fashion because everyone, including Ke$ha, is doing it. It’s the hottest fashion accessory. If you’re having a bad hair day, no problem! Distract the world with an original design finger moustache. If you don’t like your outfit, adding a finger moustache is a great way to bring a dull clothing combo out of the ugly closet.

If you’re late to class, it’s also a terrific disguise. Trust me. It works 99 percent of the time.—K. Nielsen

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Editorials

Easing course registration woes STUDENTS GO through the course registration

process each semester. While most get into the classes they need fairly painlessly, some aren’t as fortunate. Sometimes sections fill up too quickly and students are unable to register for required courses essential to their majors. This could prevent students from fulfilling prerequisites for other courses, which might make them fall behind in majors and delay their graduation.

For last-semester seniors, this isn’t too much of an obstacle. According to Pattie Mackenzie, assistant dean of Faculty Advising, departments must either make a seat available in a required section for a graduating senior or find an alternative course for the student to take. For underclassmen, however, there’s no clear solution.

Students can e-mail teachers to request a spot in a full section. However, that decision is ultimately up to the professor and the department. It’s possible for students who have a prior relationship with a teacher to be given preference over those unacquainted. Each situation is dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and there is no formal procedure in place to resolve such registration problems. Oftentimes students have no choice but to watch the OASIS course registration website and hope someone drops the class. Instead of putting the full burden of this task on the students, the college should take steps to make the registra-

tion process go more smoothly.

Columbia should consider requiring students across all departments to briefly meet with faculty advisers each semester before clearing them to register for courses. While this might mean more work for advisers early on, it would make resolving problems easier for everyone involved once registration begins and, ultimately, better serve the student body. Advisers could help students understand what courses they need to take that particular semester and register them for those courses during the advising session.

This could help ensure students required to take a specific class get priority access.

While a waiting list system might seem like an easier solution, it wouldn’t be much better than watching and hoping for a seat to open, and there would continue to be no guarantee of registering for a required class.

However, students must also be willing to make an effort to keep such problems from arising. Circumstances out of a student’s control, such as a late registration date, transferring from another school or a financial registration hold, might prevent them from getting into a class. In these cases, advisers and professors should work with students to find a solution. On the other hand, if students don’t take an active interest in course registration and aren’t willing to take responsibility for their education, the college shouldn’t have to pick up the slack.

Courtesy MCT NEWSWIRE

Put capital punishment to death THE ILLINOIS General Assembly recently

passed a bill that would make capital punishment in Illinois a thing of the past. The fate of the bill now rests in the hands of Gov. Pat Quinn, who has not yet decided whether he will sign it or not.

Illinois has had a moratorium on executions in place since former Gov. George Ryan implemented it in 2000, after 13 wrongfully convicted death row inmates were exonerated based on new evidence.

The moratorium put a halt on executions until the justice system could be reformed to avoid wrongful convictions.

However, this postponement of executions is not enough. The death penalty needs to be abolished. The system can never be fixed to be 100 percent certain that an innocent person won’t be executed. Mistakes can always be made, but a wrongfully convicted prisoner can be let out of jail. An execution can’t be undone, and nothing can bring back a wrongfully taken life.

Additionally, if we as a society want to send the message that murder is an abhorrent offense, we should not be reinforcing that point by killing. Spending a lifetime

in prison—particularly in solitary confinement—is punishment enough. Criminals should have to live with the consequences of what they’ve done and reflect on their crimes, rather than be handed an easy way out with an execution.

Supporters of the death penalty often complain the state is wasting money keeping death row inmates alive in prison. However, processing death penalty cases and pursuing executions in the justice system is far more expensive than keeping inmates in prison for life.

Extended jury selection and investigation processes in death penalty cases rack up large personnel costs before a trial even begins. Death penalty trials also last longer than regular murder trials, putting an additional strain on the state’s finances and legal system.

The death penalty is an outdated, immoral, irreversible and expensive punishment with no clear benefits and it needs to end.

For moral and fiscally practical reasons, Quinn should sign the bill and make Illinois the 16th state to abolish the barbaric system of capital punishment.

Courtesy MCT NEWSWIRE

Have an opinion about something you read in this newspaper?

Editorial Board Members Jonathan Allen Senior Graphic Designer Brock Brake Photo Editor Sam Charles Assistant Campus Editor Meghan Gray Assistant Beat Editor Darryl Holliday Metro Editor Heather McGraw Assistant Metro Editor

Courtesy MCT NEWSWIRE

Edward Kang Graphic Designer Amanda Murphy Assistant Campus Editor Katy Nielsen Assistant H&F Editor Jackson Thomas Copy Chief Brianna Wellen Assistant A&C Editor Luke Wilusz Commentary Editor

Did you catch a mistake, think we could have covered a story better or believe strongly about an issue that faces all of us here at Columbia?

Why not write a letter to the editor? At the bottom of page 2, you’ll find a set of guidelines on how to do this. Let us hear from you.

—The Columbia Chronicle Editorial Board

COMMENTARY I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

35

National Internet ID program a risky proposition “People should take responsibility for their online security by using some basic precautions.”

by Luke Wilusz Commentary Editor THE OBAMA administration recently

announced plans to give the Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create a system of national Internet identification for Americans. The program will be part of the administration’s National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which aims to enhance security, efficiency and convenience in online interactions.

Details on the identity program continue to be scarce, but so far it seems the goal is to create a system of government-issued identities that can be used to log in to multiple websites and facilitate more secure

72

Percentage of adult Internet users who think the Internet is a better value for the dollar than cable TV, according to a Jan. 8 Rasmussen Report. Only 10 percent said cable was a better value, while 18 percent said they were undecided.

transactions for things, such as online banking or Internet shopping. The system will theoretically combat identity theft by giving people one secure governmentissued identity they can rely on instead of using a different account for each service used online. Companies, such as Verizon Communications Inc., Google Inc., PayPal and Symantec, have already announced their support for the plan.

There can be certain benefits of using such a program. The U.S. government’s IT infrastructure and security is more secure than those of private companies, such as Facebook or Google, that have also made moves to allow people to use their services to log in across multiple websites.

It makes more sense to trust our identities to the government rather than large corporations. Much of our secure information—such as social security numbers, driver’s licenses, home addresses, phone numbers and so on—can already be accessed by the government, so we wouldn’t be giving it any information it doesn’t already have.

Furthermore, the government must answer to its citizens in the event something goes wrong or the identity system is

Percentage of likely U.S. voters who said they thought the news coverage of the recent shooting in Tucson, Ariz., focused too much on political implications, according to a Jan. 18 Rasmussen Report. Twenty-nine percent said the coverage was about right, while six percent said there was not enough coverage of the political angle.

56

compromised. We elect our leaders, and we can hold them responsible for their mistakes. Private corporations, such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc., are under no such obligation and can theoretically do whatever they want with the personal information of their users. If I had to choose, I would much rather trust my identity with the government than with a corporate alternative.

That’s not to say I’ll be signing up for the national Internet identity program on day one, though. Several possible aspects of the idea make me uneasy. While I’m OK with trusting the government with personal information—much of it was issued by the government to begin with— I’m not comfortable with the possibility that using a government ID online will allow the government to monitor what I’m doing on the Internet. If the Commerce Department were to covertly share information with, say, the National Security Agency, it’s not hard to imagine the Orwellian implications of increased government surveillance and the loss of personal privacy.

However, it’s far too early to worry about those kinds of possibilities—those issues

238

Millions of dollars paid in ransoms to Somali pirates in 2010, according to a Jan. 18 Wired.com article. The average ransom for a hijacked ship was $5.4 million, and insuring ships in piracy-prone waters, such as the Gulf of Aden, can cost between $460 million and $3.2 billion.

are merely speculation. My biggest problem with the proposed national identity system is it goes against everything I know to be practical about online security.

Trusting everything you use online to one login—no matter how secure you think it is—is a bad idea. It would be like using the same password for everything from trivial blog commenting accounts to e-mail, PayPal and online banking access. Once hackers or identity thieves have access to one of those things, they have access to everything.

Rather than rely on either the government or corporations to provide the ease and convenience of one universal login across all online services, people should take responsibility for their online security by using some basic precautions.

Using a different password for everything and creating strong ones that combine numbers, lowercase and capital letters and other special characters are the best ways to ensure online security.

It might be a bit more work, but it’s always better to rely on yourself rather than trust your identity to anyone else. lwilusz@chroniclemail.com

Percentage of surveyed U.S. surgeons who experienced suicidal ideation in the past year, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Surgery. Of those, 26 percent sought psychiatric help, while 60 percent were reluctant to do so out of concern it would affect their medical license.

6

‘The Game’ scores touchdown for black programming “For me,

it’s not the shows getting canceled, it’s the fact that they’re popular, in high demand and they’re canceled unexpectedly.”

by Shardae Smith Assistant Campus Editor AFTER A two-year hiatus, season four of

the comedy-drama “The Game” premiered on Jan. 11 on cable network BET. With 7.7 million viewers tuning in, that show is now the No. 1 ad-supported, scripted series premiere in cable history, according to the Nielsen Ratings Co. Now that BET has broken ratings records, does this mean black sitcoms are going to make a comeback? With the numbers “The Game” has produced on BET, the cable network has a chance to give network TV a run for its money.

It’s unfair so many black sitcoms are given the axe with little or no notice to prepare viewers for their demise.

There was a time when “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Moesha” and “Living

Single” showed a promising future for black sitcoms, but as of late, minority television shows are almost non-existent. It’s at a point where the black community will tune in to a show—whether or not people enjoy the show—just to give the program a chance to stay on the air.

BET’s original sitcom “Let’s Stay Together,” which premiered right after “The Game,” is now ranked among the top five ad-supported sitcom premieres in cable TV history.

“The Game” was canceled in 2009 by CBS and Warner Bros. joint television network The CW, after the network decided it wanted to carry hour-long programming as opposed to a 30-minute series. Fans of the show—which follows the lives of fictional San Diego Saber football players and their family battles—were outraged and campaigned to keep the show on the network before it was officially canceled.

When BET started airing “The Game” in syndication, shortly after its CW cancellation, my friends and I continued to watch the episodes as if they were new. We were in denial. On Twitter I would often see comments from people watching the reruns begging for BET to pick up the show again.

Comedian Chris Rock’s “Everybody Hates Chris” was canceled at the same

time as “The Game,” after The CW moved both shows to an unfavorable Friday night time slot, even though both shows were popular within the black community.

Once “The Game” was moved to the Friday night death spot for its last season on The CW, ratings dropped to 1 million viewers weekly. Coincidently, The CW programs “One Tree Hill” and “Gossip Girl” received the same amount of viewers at the time. Two years later, the network continues to carry these shows in its lineup.

Though fans were able to bring “The Game” back to the airwaves, it came with changes I wasn’t expecting.

With the switch from The CW to BET, “The Game” has fewer writers and has had to shoot episodes entirely out of sequence for efficiency. The set has also been moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta. BET isn’t even available in households without basic cable and doesn’t receive the commercial support other networks may receive.

Those changes were quite visible during the season premiere but, as my best friend pointed out, maybe the BET logo plastered in the right hand corner of the screen is what made them so noticeable. BET has taken a lot of criticism during the years because of its programming, such as bootyshaking videos and jumping on the reality

TV bandwagon, which has been redundant since 2006.

Even when LGBTQ cable network Logo premiered “Noah’s Arc,” a scripted series that followed four black gay men living in Hollywood, it didn’t work out in fans’ favor.

Although critics stated it’s the network’s highest-rated original series, it was canceled unexpectedly after two short seasons in 2007. A rushed movie to resolve the season’s cliffhangers was released in 2008.

For me, it’s not the shows getting canceled, it’s the fact that they’re popular, in high demand and they’re canceled unexpectedly. Is there some type of hex on black TV? Besides BET, cable channels TVone, which premiered its original series “Love That Girl” earlier this month, and TBS (Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns,” “House of Payne” and “Are We There Yet?”) are the only channels catering to scripted black programming.

It’s apparent this genre of programming has become rare, but it appears to be making a strong comeback. Maybe the return of “The Game” and its high ratings can help make room for more opportunities for black sitcoms. ssmith@chroniclemail.com

JANUARY 24, 2011

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36 THE CHRONICLE I

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37

Wacker Drive reconstruction part two Continuing project to provide enhanced safety for residents, city streets

by Kristen Franzen Assistant Metro Editor PHASE TWO of a two-year plan to re-envision

is said to have lied to prosecutors in a 2003 civil suit and was indicted for it in 2008.

“I am a broken man,” Burge told the court. “I’m not the person portrayed in the media and by the plaintiffs’ attorneys.”

Burge and his officers were found guilty of tormenting dozens of individuals, all either black or Latino. The defendant was acquitted in 1989 after a hung jury in the first trial. Because of the statute of limitations, he avoided conviction for the police brutality he enacted and oversaw. In civil cases, the law restricts the time in which legal proceedings may be brought. Because many victims were incarcerated, the time in which Burge could have been tried in

Chicago’s traffic infrastructure is in motion on Wacker Drive, which provides downtown access to 60,000 vehicles daily.

Wacker Drive is a major two-level overpass, bordering the north and west sides of Chicago’s business district. The 55-year-old infrastructure has outlived its predictable useful service life.

The estimated $200 million reconstruction project—which entails reconstruction from Randolph Street to Van Buren Street and the interchange of Congress Parkway at Van Buren Street—will take approximately two years to complete.

Brian Steele, director of communications at the Chicago Department of Transportation, said for a project this size a learning curve takes place with our community during the first few weeks.

“Any project of this size occurring in the heart of the central business district will impact—and is impacting—motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users,” Steele said.

All through 2010, CDOT met with building owners and managers along Wacker Drive to determine how their tenants, customers and loading docks will be maintained throughout construction.

“We have done a lot of coordination with large entities, like the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which is right on Wacker Drive between Washington Street and Madison Street,” Steele said. “We have prepared

xx SEE TORTURE, PG. 43

xx SEE WACKER, PG. 43

Brock Brake THE CHRONICLE

Mark Clements speaks during a press conference at the Dirksen Federal Building, 219 S. Dearborn, on Jan. 20. Clements is a survivor of the torture attributed to Jon Burge.

Burge gets 4.5 years in prison Former police commander sentenced in federal court for lying about torture

by Meghan Gray Assistant Editor THE EVERETT McKinley Dirksen U.S. Court-

house, 219 S. Dearborn St., was packed with the alleged victims of former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge for the sentencing of the man whose name has become synonymous with police brutality throughout the last four decades.

Burge received a sentence of 54 months in prison from Judge Joan Lefkow on Jan. 21. Burge was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice last June. He was convicted of lying to the courts concerning

the torture of more than 100 people.

“Unfortunately for you, the jury did not believe you and I must agree. I did not either,” Lefkow told Burge.

Additionally, Burge was sentenced to three years supervision upon his release, required to participate in an alcohol treatment program and is banned from owning a firearm. His surrender date is March 16.

“It’s stunning,” said a woman known as Queen Sister. “Some time beats no time.

He won’t be having a fun time. That’s what’s important.”

Prosecutors said Burge clearly denied the rights of criminal suspects he investigated and used inhumane tactics to coerce confessions. According to court reports, the alleged abuse took place between 1972 and 1991. The defendant

STEM Magnet School proposed for Near West Side Community members agree, disagree over best way to educate Chicago’s youth

by Kristen Franzen Assistant Metro Editor A PLAN for a new magnet school on the Near

West Side is reigniting debate between supporters of neighborhood schools and those who back Chicago’s plan for expanding specialized education in the city.

In addition to three other magnet schools located on the Near West Side, a proposed new magnet school to be housed in the former Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, 1522 W. Fillmore St., has sparked the interest of parents who live in University Village.

The proposed school would be called STEM Magnet School and would primarily focus on science, technology, engineering and math with a possibility of a foreign language beginning in kindergarten.

The school would be the Near West Side’s fourth magnet school, in addition to Suder Montessori Magnet School, 2022 W. Wash-

ington Blvd.; Andrew Jackson Language Academy, 1340 W. Harrison St.; and Galileo Scholastic Academy of Math & Science, 820 S. Carpenter St. The Near West Side would hold the most magnet schools in the Chicago area if the new proposal passes the school board on Jan. 26.

If approved, STEM Magnet will start accepting applications for kindergarten through third grade. The proposed school’s plan is to add a grade level each year following.

Dennis O’Neill, executive director of the University Village Association, said he thinks this is exactly what the community needs.

“We’re very much underserved by Chicago Public Schools in our community,” O’Neill said. “So we are working diligently as a community to provide access to highquality education and a socioeconomically diverse environment.”

O’Neill said one of the advantages about the community is its central location.

“This is something I whole-heartedly xx SEE MAGNET, PG. 41

Sarah Mays THE CHRONICLE

The proposed STEM Magnet School would be located in the vacant Jefferson school, 1522 W. Fillmore St., if approved on Jan. 26.

38

THE CHRONICLE | JANUARY 24, 2011

ELECTION RUNDOWN Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune

Robert “Bob” Fioretti

James “Jim” Bosco

Federico Sciammarella

Genita C. Robinson

Enrique G. Perez

Melissa Callahan

2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti was elected on April 17, 2007 and took office that May.

is currently an attorney at the

is an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Northern Illinois University’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.

has been a resident of the South Loop for more than a decade. She is the executive director of the Lawyers Lend-AHand to Youth Program.

has served as a community representative on the Local School Council of the South Loop School and Jones College Prep.

organized and led a taxi strike.

She also formed the Association of Unified Professional Drivers.

Law Office of James A. Bosco and Associates..

A HISTORIC election will take place in Chi-

cago on Feb. 22 that could alter the city up to the highest levels of government. According to the Chicago Board of Elections, the races for mayor, alderman, city clerk and city treasurer have drawn the highest number of candidates on record.

“This will be the beginning of the post[Mayor Richard M.] Daley era, which means a fundamental change in politics and government,” said Dick Simpson, former 44th Ward alderman and head of the Political Science Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

There are currently 11 vacancies in the City Council with 350 candidates having applied for aldermanic seats. According to Simpson, the current election cycle may be one in which the City Council becomes a stronger legislative body. About 15 to 20 of the seats will turn over, making it the largest new group of aldermen since the 1970s.

The city’s structure is largely framed by City Council, legally, physically and financially. The council has complete authority over the city’s $6 billion budget. Additionally, every law is passed and every new building is approved by the 50 aldermen who make up the body and represent each of the city’s wards. All of these powers will come into play as the city attempts to plug a $1.5 billion budget hole.

“They’re going to have to cut some services or raise taxes,” Simpson said.

Along with a record number of candidates, voter registration is up in every ward in the city.

As the 2010 census results arrive within the next couple of months, they are expected to show that Chicago has changed considerably during the past 10 years. Further facets of change, including the redistricting of boundaries, may be in store for a city already in transformation.

Four more years?

President Barack Obama is gearing up his bid for re-election and planning a campaign that will be run out of Chicago, according to HuffingtonPost.com on Jan 20.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the President will soon file with the Federal Election Commission to formally declare his candidacy. “We’ve made progress on getting the economy back in order, and I think the president wants to continue to do that,” Gibbs said.As the campaign approaches, the White House is closing its political affairs office and moving its functions to the DNC.

The Chronicle: What are the most thing you can do for the 2nd Ward is keep important issues currently facing the [it] alive: so goes the 2nd Ward, so goes the Over the next four weeks the Chronicle 2nd Ward? city. The most important issues facing it will be closely following the election in the

mirror those facing the city, which are edu- 2nd ward, in which Columbia is located, as well as developments across the city of cation, security and the need for reform.

Chicago.

We begin with an overview of our 2nd Bob Fioretti: [The issues are] the same [ones] that have been [in the 2nd Ward] ward candidates. from day one: job creation, job preservation, improving our educational system and improving the quality of life for the citizens Genita C. Robinson: Well, I would like to of the 2nd Ward.

City Council’s lead with something positive: I think we recent endeavors have an amazing ward … I think the issues The Chronicle: What is your plan for facing the ward are [those] facing the city tax increment finance funds in the at large: the economy and the lack of jobs, 2nd Ward?

In November 2010, our educational system, the increase in Chicago’s City Council crime—or at least, the perceived increase GR: TIF funds have been a really good ecoapproved the $6.15 bilin crime—I know there’s some data to the nomic tool, but there are a lot of questions lion executive budget contrary. And I think for a lot of people, about TIFs and a lack of transparency. We for 2011. there’s a growing concern regarding the need more information on how useful TIFs city budget. have been—what the outcomes have been In September 2010, Council passed amendfor the dollars—before we can make deciFederico Sciammarella: I think innova- sions on how to use that money … there’s ments to regulate parktion in education and increasing employ- some detailed analysis that needs to ing meter rates and hours ment opportunities for the more under- be done. of operation within the served parts of the 2nd Ward are some of the 2nd Ward. most important issues. I think concern of EP: TIFs are a tale of two situations: The foreclosure and mortgages are also impor- benefits do not accrue equally to residents …

In August 2010, Countant and complex issues. cil passed Tax Increment if I had to come up with a solution, I would F inancing Neighborsay no more TIFs should be created in the Melissa Callahan: There are differ- city of Chicago unless the area is truly hood Improvement Proent issues, the ward is different on each blighted. The TIFs that are already there, gram agreements with side … I think on the West Side, the most like the ones here in the South Loop—we Neighborhood Houscritical issues are a lack of job opportuni- really need to consider not putting any ing Services of Chicago ties—there’s a strong need for economic more money into them and refunding Inc. for benefit of North development. There are issues of crime as any future monies back to Chicago Public Pullman Area. well. [In] the South Loop, I think the sum of Schools, [the] Chicago Park District and the [its] issues [is] a lot of parking restrictions. I other various taxing authorities.

In June 2010, Council know the residents would like to see more passed denunciation of development over there.There are issues of MC: I think the TIF money was originally Arizona Senate Bill 1070 a lack of city resources [in] the South Loop meant to develop underdeveloped commuand call for city boycott of as far the schools go.

Arizona businesses. nities, and the West Side is a very underdeveloped community. A lot of the TIF money James A. Bosco: The most important that is available should go to local business Enrique G. Perez: The three most important issues facing the ward—and really, the whole city in my opinion—are jobs, schools and crime. A fourth issue, which is an undertone to all of those issues, is the budget.

Watkins on the tube According to HuffingtonPost.com, Mayoral candidate Patricia Watkins is determined not to have her candidacy fly under the radar. With six candidates remaining on the ballot for Chicago’s next mayor, Watkins, with no previous electoral experience, raised more than $500,000 in the last fundraising quarter. Her second television ad, a 60-second spot called “Patricia,” released on Jan. 18, focuses on her life story and her plans for the city. Mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun has yet to advertise on television.

Emanuel in the hot seat Mayoral candidates Gery Chico and Miguel del Valle slammed Rahm Emanuel for his “cozy relationship” with former President Bill Clinton, his ties to mortgage giant Freddie Mac and the housing crisis, according to Chicagoist.com. “When Rahm Emanuel had the chance to blow the whistle on corrupt activity taking place on the Freddie Mac board, he sat on his hands, looked the other way and took the cash,” Chico told CBS2. Emanuel served on the board when Freddie Mac misstated its earnings by $5 billion for 2000 to 2002.

Suspicious literature According to a recent report from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, campaign literature for 19th Ward aldermanic candidate Matt O’Shea may seem misleading. The return address on O’Shea’s campaign literature is “19th Ward Office,” and the phone number and e-mail listed are the same as those for the 19th Ward service office.The campaign says there is no link between O’Shea’s campaign and current Alderman Virginia Rugai’s ward office--thus no misuse of public funds.

Rugai is not running for re-election.

METRO I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

Continued from PG. 38

CLASSIFIED-EGG DONORS

to help them provide jobs to people on the GR: I think we need to rethink how we alloWest Side. cate our police, not in terms of how many officers are assigned to a district, but really FS: I think [the] original purpose [of the in terms [of] how [they] respond to calls. It TIF funds] was great, but over the years its doesn’t have to be that you’re [an officer] from course has changed. We definitely need to a particular district to respond to a call—if re-evaluate TIFs and how they’re utilized. I you’re the first available officer,and that [call] would make the process more transparent. comes in, you should be responding.

Once you engage the community and say, ‘Where are our biggest needs?’ I would say, EP: The one department in the city we do and I think this is a fundamental aspect: need to increase manpower [for] is the [Chieducation. If we can develop a plan to work cago Police Department], [we’re] really in a with private industry and use some of that situation where we don’t have the coverage TIF money to create schools that are commu- we need. nity schools—that are not magnet schools— that anyone can get into as long as you live in MC: We need more officers here [in the 2nd the neighborhood.

Ward].If we don’t have the funds to hire more officers right now,I think [relocating officers] JB: We need TIF reform. The TIF is a Ponzi is something that should happen until we scheme ... TIFs take in about $500 billion a can hire more. year—[it’s] a state statute, so I wouldn’t personally be able to just shut it down, [but] FS: Ensuring efficiency in [the] CPD’s budget the City Council can shut it down under the is of the utmost importance. current TIF statute. I would actually petition Springfield, Ill. and ask them to eliminate JB: Crime is a real problem in the 2nd Ward the TIF statute altogether so we can have an and citywide, and by real problem, I mean it orderly—mandated by the state—elimination depends on where you’re at.The lack of police of the TIF. officers has fundamentally altered crime statistics in this city because there are not BF: TIFs are a good economic tool, especially enough cops to respond to crime.It’s systemic in blighted areas. A lot of the ward that was and philosophical—we don’t measure what blighted 15 years ago is no longer blighted … we’re supposed to be measuring. we still need to use our TIF funds to bring in good jobs,good job creations,helping develop- BF: We’ve used citizen involvement to a much ment of our parks … it’s still a good economic greater degree. We closed down places that tool we ought to be utilizing for the benefit have been bad for citizens by using citizen of our citizens, as long as we continue to see involvement …in most of the areas in the 2nd a benefit for our citizens.

Ward, the crime rate has gone down to the benefit of the citizens.

The Chronicle: How would you ensuresafety in the 2nd Ward?

39

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

xx REPEAL

However, both representatives said it is unlikely a repeal bill will pass through the Senate.

“I don’t expect you to see anything move,” Shimkus said. “I do think you’ll have debates on provisions of the bill that folks will want to get fixed.”

He said he thinks the passed House resolution will at least lead to conversation on overall reform of the federal health care bill. Davis agreed a dead end in the Senate does not mean the end of discussion on health care reform.

“Nothing is ever the end,” Davis said.

“Things will always go on and there will always be efforts to undo and to redo.

That’s the process of democracy.”

Continued from Front Page reform legislation is helping them to do.

“If that federal law goes away, we’ll lose out on a lot of resources that help the department of insurance make sure insurance companies are not unfairly charging consumers,” Imus said.

Larry McNeely, federal health care advocate for Illinois PIRG, said the rising premiums and low accessibility stem from an overall lack of competition in insurance markets.

“To fix that the [federal] law allows states to create new state-level health insurance exchanges,” McNeely said.

This process will allow individuals to come together as a group to shop state by state and negotiate for better deals.

Another issue students might face if a repeal moves forward is a decrease in job availability.

“Young adults are going to be leaving college [and] entering the job market,” McNeely said. “The rise in cost of health care is not only affecting young people, it’s affecting employers.”

He also said the effect on employers turns back on young adults because businesses are going to spend more on health care costs and less on hiring new staff.

“There are a number of states that have taken some steps to make limited improvement for folks, but if I were a student I would not be feeling comfortable if this thing moves forward,” McNeely said.

One major impact of an overall repeal for students would be the reinstatement of coverage denial based on pre-existing conditions, according to McNeely.

hmcgraw@chroniclemail.com Associated Press

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, right, accompanied by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., holding a proposal to repeal the health care bill.

“Illinois doesn’t have a ban on denial of coverage [because of] pre-existing conditions. So that’s one area where if the federal law is repealed, insurance companies would continue to be able to do this,” McNeely said.

Congressman John Shimkus (R-Ill.) who voted for the repeal, said a ban on pre-existing condition denial and a higher age limit for parental policy coverage are, in his opinion, some of the bill’s positive components.

“Those are two things we could easily move on our own separately, and they’re a part of our alternatives,” Shimkus said.

He represents the 19th district and was formerly the highest-ranking Republican on the health sub-committee. He said he believes GOP representatives have don the job constituents elected them to do.

“It’s [fulfilling] campaign promises to the people who sent us to Washington, and that was to address this job-destroying bill,” Shimkus said.

According to him, of the 87 new Republican members of the House, it is likely they all ran on repeal. He also thinks incumbents, like himself, used a platform of repeal or repeal and replace.

Congressman Danny Davis (D-Ill.) said he thinks House Republicans have done their job when it comes to repeal.

“Even though you might know something is likely not to pass in the other body, you have to get it passed in your body for it to have any chance of ever becoming law anyway,” Davis said. “You have to go ahead and do what you are capable of doing.”

SOMETHING to know

about health care reform You keep the right to stay on your parent’s family health insurance plan until the age of 26.

Your coverage cannot be dropped when an unexpected condition or accident raises your medical expenses.

If your insurer spends less than 80 percent of your premiums on care, you are entitled to a rebate.

You are entitled to free preventive care in any new insurance policy to keep you healthy and your health care costs down.

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xx MAGNET Continued from PG. 37 (25th Ward).“This is a win-win-win situation.”

Alderman Robert Fioretti (2nd Ward) said opening STEM Magnet would help the community as a whole but he would like to see CPS put forth supplementary funds for other local schools, such as John M. Smyth Elementary School.

“I am asking CPS, and I consistently contacted CPS for additional resources at another local school,” Fioretti said.

When applying to a magnet school, each student application is looked at independently. A student’s parent or guardian will receive a lottery number. The student’s lottery number will either admit the student to his or her top choice magnet school or be placed on a waiting list.

The kids here in this neighborhood need a chance.”

-Lou Marolda

THA – SF

However, unlike most magnet schools, where 40 percent of the seats are saved for children in the community with a lottery number and 60 percent are for children citywide, STEM Magnet will have a “no attendance boundary rule.” This means every student in the city will be able to apply.

According to O’Neill, many neighborhoodPublication schools provide a difficultSizelearning environment COLUMBIAbecause of all the5 xsocioeco8 the nomic challenges that come along with CHRONICLE student population. “Many neighborhood

Sarah Mays THE CHRONICLE

An inside view of the now-vacant Thomas Jefferson Elementary, 1522 W. Fillmore St.

schools are poor, segregated and failing,” O’Neill said. “On the other hand, we have magnet schools that are academically excellent and socioeconomically diverse by design.

The system isRundesigned that way.”

Date(s) Initial Time Smyth Elementary was given an internal gradeMONDAY of “F” by1.24 CPS, although it is a wellresourced school, according to O’Neill. It

provides students with a computer lab, green house and music program. It specializes in Mandarin and maintains an international baccalaureate program.

O’Neill said there are two criteria people want in a school and a community.

“We are a university community, so we are a very socioeconomically diverse

community already,” O’Neill said. “So, people here would like an academically excellent school for their children, a public education and also want it to be a socioeconomic learning environment. At this moment, this [Smyth] school does not meet those criteria.It is not academically excellent.”

Lou Marolda, a University Village resident who lives down the street from Jefferson Elementary, said he is at odds with STEM Magnet.

“Your children may not get into this school,” Marolda said, as he spoke to the audience at the community meeting held at St. Ignatius College Prep. “The kids here in this neighborhood need a chance. I am, however, in support for opening Jefferson [Elementary], although I would like it to be a neighborhood school so all the neighborhood kids in this community can go there.”

Currently, if a child of the Near West Side community doesn’t get into a magnet school, they are enrolled in Smyth Elementary. Community parents wanted to increase enrollment size at Andrew Jackson Language Academy, but Jackson parents objected and argued it would upset the learning dynamics.

Angela Bryant, a University Village resident who attended the community meeting, said she was in favor of the proposed STEM Magnet but would prefer the school be placed in a farther West Side neighborhood because University Village already provides three magnet schools.

“I am in favor of equity and fairness,” Bryant said. “A STEM school in a West Side community would better serve a [farther] West Side community.” kfranzen@chroniclemail.com

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For your chance to win a pair of tickets for an advance screening of “The Rite” on January 24, simply stop by the Columbia Chronicle office: 33 E Congress – Suite 224 Screening passes available exclusively for Columbia College Chicago students, staff and faculty. Must present ID. All federal, state and local regulations apply. Must be 17 or older to be eligible. Seating at screening event is first-come, first-served and is not guaranteed. Please arrive early. No purchase necessary. Employees of all promotional partners, their agencies, and those who have received a pass within the last 90 days are not eligible. A recipient of prizes assumes any and all risks related to use of ticket and accepts any restrictions required by prize provider. Warner Bros Pictures, Columbia Chronicle, and their affiliates accept no responsibility or liability in connection with any loss or accident incurred in connection with use of a prize. Prizes cannot be exchanged, transferred or redeemed for cash, in whole or in part. We are not responsible if, for any reason, winner is unable to use his/her ticket in whole or in part. Not responsible for lost; delayed or misdirected entries. All federal and local taxes are the responsibility of the winner. Void where prohibited by law. PRIZES RECEIVED THROUGH THIS PROMOTION ARE NOT FOR RESALE. This films is rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic material, violence, frightening images, and language including sexual references. PRIZES RECEIVED THROUGH THIS PROMOTION ARE NOT FOR RESALE.

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THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Walmart’s Chicago impact at center of debate UIC professor scheduled to testify in NYC hearing on urban retail giant

by Heather McGraw Assistant Metro Editor A STUDY that has come under fire, co-written

by faculty and students at Loyola University Chicago and a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is at the forefront of a hearing scheduled on Feb. 3, which could affect the future of Walmart stores in urban settings such as Chicago.

The study focuses on a location in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood—the first Walmart to open in a high density metropolitan area.

According to the study’s findings, WalMart’s opening has resulted in the loss of about 300 jobs within a five mile radius.

David Merriman, a professor of economics and public administration at UIC is not the sole author of the 2009 study his testimony will focus on, but he has taken on the role of representative for the hearing in New York City.

“The point of me testifying is to get the focus on facts and for people not to have knee-jerk or symbolic emotional responses,” Merriman said.

According to him, the study is being used at the hearing because many people think it is a good model for what could happen in New York City if Walmart were to open a store there.

“Frankly, I’ve been surprised with how controversial this research has been,” Mer

riman said. “It’s become a very intensely politicized issue.”

Steven V. Restivo, director of Community Affairs for Walmart, said the company is questioning the hearing’s intention and the validity of the 2009 study.

Restivo said the study is flawed and cites its failure to mention new businesses that came into the Austin community as a major problem—one he said Merriman has admitted to.

“We don’t have a store or an announced project in New York City, so to some extent the hearing is a hypothetical exercise from our standpoint,” Restivo said.

However, Merriman said he thinks the right time for discussion is now.

“I think it makes a lot of sense to start talking about the issues very early and start thinking about the general question of how you want to do economic development and what the role of government is in organizing the private sector,” Merriman said.

According to Restivo, although Walmart has not officially announced plans for any store in New York City yet, the company has started exploring the possibilities the area could provide.

“Right now we are evaluating lots of opportunities small, medium [and] large across all five boroughs,” Restivo said. “We know today we have lots of customers in New York City even without having a physical presence .”

Alderman Anthony Beale (9th Ward) is a proponent of urban Walmarts and led a successful initiative to open another store in his ward.

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A 2009 study, which analyzes the overall effects an urban Walmart store has on its immediate neighborhood, is part of a Feb. 3 hearing in New York City to determine whether the chain can expand into the city.

“I firmly believe when you have a community such as mine that has a food desert—[a community that] doesn’t have adequate fresh produce and those types of goods— we’re doing ourselves a disservice by not allowing Walmart to come in and fill that void,” Beale said.

Restivo and Beale refer to a January 2010 study by Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group that shows 22 new businesses that have opened since the Austin neighborhood Walmart moved in 2006.

“That is positive proof that Walmart brings businesses, [it helps] businesses grow and it doesn’t harm other businesses in the area,” Beale said.

According to Restivo, positive results are actually a recurring trend when Walmart comes to town.

“We have more than 4,000 stores across the country,” Restivo said. “What we find in the majority of cases is our stores are actually a magnet for growth and development.”

Beale believes more urban areas should consider letting Walmart open stores in their neighborhoods.

“Most of your urban communities are looking for opportunities for change, and Walmart is bringing that change,” Beale said. hmcgraw@chroniclemail.com

METRO I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

xx TORTURE

the heinous effect Burge had on them.

Both men became emotional while taking Continued from PG. 37 the stand and spoke about the pain and anguish they continue to experience court expired. decades after the torture.

Burge and those directly under his comJones spoke under oath about an incimand reportedly used malicious practices dent that occurred in 1982. According to that left little to no physical evidence. the victim, the former lieutenant held an Methods used were severe beating, shock- electrical device to a radiator and then ing and suffocation. Items frequently used proceeded to administer three shocks to in Burge’s interrogations included cattle his body. prods, pipes, guns, phonebooks and electrical shock boxes.

The way Jon Burge operated and “The way Jon Burge operated and how he how he tortured men and children tortured men and children was basically in was, basically, in sophisticated ways sophisticated ways a lot of people had never heard of,” said Mark Clements, a victim a lot of people had never heard of.” of Burge’s.

Mark Clements Clements is all too familiar with the techniques used by Burge and his men. After “I feel hopeless and helpless when I spending 28 years in prison for crimes he dream,” Holmes explained. “I’m screaming did not commit, he blames Chicago’s crimi- for help and no one hears me.” nal justice system for allowing this sort of During his interrogation, the victim was conduct to transpire. shocked with a black box, suffocated with Incarcerated for arson and murder, Cle- a plastic bag and beat in the groin. Holmes ments was exonerated in August 2009 was openly sensitive during his time on after being found provably innocent. At the stand, telling the court of the pain his trial, the only piece of evidence pre- he experienced. sented by the prosecution was a confes“Burge enjoyed it. He laughed as he was sion obtained by force under the direction torturing me,” Holmes said. of Burge.

The former lieutenant was suspended “Why was I found guilty by people in from the Chicago Police Department in 1991 a jury? That is really something I do not and fired in 1993 after a ruling by the Police Review Board. His employment ended know,” Clements said.

These days, Clements takes full advan- when allegations of mistreatment toward tage of his freedom and serves as founder a subject surfaced. and chair of the Jail Jon Burge Coalition, Burge is a decorated veteran who earned national organizer of The Campaign to a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his miliEnd the Death Penalty and wrongful con- tary involvement in South Korea and Vietvictions monitor for the Chicago Alliance nam. He received an honorable discharge Against Racism and Political Oppression. from the Army on Aug. 25, 1969.

Abuse victims Melvin Jones and Anthony Holmes testified at the sentencing, noting mgray@chroniclemail.com

xx WACKER Continued from PG. 37 fliers for them, written information for their website and letters to their customers letting them know this project is going on and they will see some changes at the Lyric Opera.”

Steele also mentioned how traffic delays were going to be handled.

“The delay in traffic is particularly great during the morning and afternoon rush hour,” he said. “We changed some signal timings, we moved some parking around and we established lane configuration to help traffic flow more smoothly.”

According to Steele, public transportation will have disruptions with a minute or two added to a commute.

“There are 13 bus routes that have changes to them,” he said. “However, most of them are fairly small changes. Instead of going down Washington Street, the route will go a block north to Randolph Street and a block south to Madison Street.”

T.J. Brookover, head of the Wacker Drive Property Owners Association, said the city and project management team working on the city’s behalf has done a good job in communicating with the property owners and building managers along Wacker Drive.

According to the bridge engineering analysis website run by LUSAS Bridge, the lower level of Wacker Drive provides access for service vehicles to more than 50 high-rise buildings. The upper level intersects with 20 streets and connects with drawbridges that cross the Chicago River.

Dan Burke, chief bridge engineer for CDOT, said aside from architectural changes and beautifying the Wacker Drive

43

experience, the second and third stages of the reconstruction project have numerous safety enhancements for residents.

“It will provide a much safer environment,” Burke said. “Signal timings have been adjusted to accommodate the new pedestrian standards.”

Lake and Madison streets are under construction that will continue into summer 2011. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Congress Parkway interchange and bridge will continue reconstruction until summer 2012.

“It’s a continuation of Mayor [Richard M.] Daley’s vision for the future and for renewing our infrastructure and having it in place to address our future needs,” Burke said. kfranzen@chroniclemail.com

Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

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Nominate them for the 2011 Excellence in Teaching Award!

For details, visit http://www.colum.edu/cte Nominations accepted from November 15, 2010 to February 11, 2011

44

THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 24, 2011

Emanuel calls for sales tax swap, rate cut

Candidate proposes new services, tax measures as means toward revenue

by Rick Pearson & David Heinzmann MCT Newswire CHICAGO MAYORAL candidate Rahm Eman-

uel proposed a sales tax swap on Jan. 19, adding a slew of services to what gets taxed in return for cutting the city rate by a quarter percentage point.

Opponent Carol Moseley Braun immediately denounced the plan as “a tax increase,” a characterization Emanuel’s campaign bristled at, saying the candidate wants to cut the city portion of the sales tax from 1.25 percent to 1 percent.

But Emanuel also estimated his sales tax plan would lead to $15 million to $20 million more to the city.And services not currently subject to the sales tax, such as tanning parlors, limo rides and pet grooming, would be taxed.

Emanuel also wants to scrap the city’s 8 percent tax on natural gas and replace it with an unspecified flat per-unit tax.

Emanuel said taken together, his plan would save families $200 to $300, but with so few details it was difficult to determine whether that was true.

The tax swap talk came at a news conference called after opponent Gery Chico announced he will get the key Fraternal Order of Police endorsement.

The police union picked Chico over Emanuel in what officials said was a very close vote, saying the union believed offi-

.middle-of-the-night income tax increase that boosted the personal rate by 67 percent.

In the aftermath, there are questions about the legislature’s appetite to examine a broadening of the sales tax, even if for Chicago. Emanuel said the income tax controversy might make lawmakers more receptive to his plans for the city.

“I think ultimately, given the reaction over the days, there’ll be an interest now in Springfield [Ill.] on how to bring some tax reform and tax cuts, and here I’ve made an idea I think I can advocate for,” Emanuel said.

For the 12-month period that ended on June 30, 2010, state Revenue Department figures show a 20 percent reduction in the city’s home-rule portion of the sales tax would cost $38.5 million.

“Chicago has one of ... the highest sales tax for a major city in the country,” Emanuel said of Chicago’s 9.75 percent overall rate. “Given that, I think this is a way now to bring a cut in the sales tax—a 20 percent reduction, closing loopholes, make Brent Lewis THE CHRONICLE it flatter, broader on what it affects—and Rahm Emanuel speaks during an event at the Chicago Cultural Center on Jan. 18, 2011. Emanuel wants therefore you’ll see a reduction that’s a win to bring changes to Chicagoans if elected mayor, which now includes a tax swap. This would bring in more for business in the city and it’s a win for money for the city to fund more services that were once at risk of being cut. the consumer.”

On Jan. 19, Emanuel’s attorneys argued cers would fare better with Chico, especially As for sales taxes, Chico said he has a simi- before an Illinois appellate court that he on pensions. lar proposal in the works. belongs on the Feb. 22 ballot. Emanuel has Chico insisted it’s premature to If elected mayor, Emanuel would need prevailed against a residency challenge say anything specific about pension City Council permission to cut the sales tax twice before, at the Chicago Board of Eleccosts and cuts, but he would negoti- and need state lawmaker approval to tions and Circuit Court.The appellate ruling ate with an open mind. Union officials expand the sales tax to include services. could come as soon as Jan. 27. said they believe Emanuel has made up The Democratic-led General Assembly is chronicle@colum.edu his mind about cutting their benefits. already weathering criticism from the

2010 2011

colum.edu/artanddesign

The Art + Design Lecture Series presents:

Tuesday, January 25 6–7 pm, MCA Theater Tickets: $10, $8 members, $6 students Complimentary tickets available for Columbia College faculty, students and staff (valid ID required) and Chicago Women in Architecture members. Call Box Office at 312.397.3839 to reserve or purchase tickets.

ELIZABETH FRANCIS

How does where we live affect our understanding of our environment? Elizabeth Francis, an architect keenly interested in architectural research and sustainability, takes us on a journey to explore this question. She discusses examples of integrated design from her work with the firm Mario Cucinella Architects and her current projects under atelierFrancis, which incorporate research, architecture and art, and brings the question of environment home as she reflects on the realities of being a working woman in Italy today.

IMAGE CREDIT Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling in Non-domestic Buildings, European research project by MCA

METRO I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

45

FEATURED PHOTO

Tiela Halpin THE CHRONICLE

A group outside the Chicago Water Tower, 806 N. Michigan Ave., on Jan. 20, protested the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Gong is a Chinese form of meditation banned on July 20, 1999, by then Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin. Investigations by Chinese human rights lawyers, Amnesty International and the United Nations reported Falun Gong practitioners have suffered electric baton shocks, psychiatric abuse and sexual violence; thousands have died as a result. The protest coincided with current Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Chicago.

IN OTHER NEWS Daley: the novel

Gone so fast, you’ll freak

As Richard M. Daley’s final term as mayor draws to a close, he is considering what he will do with his free time, according to SunTimes.com. “For 30 years, I’ve had a schedule,” Daley said. Possibilities that have been discussed include teaching a college-level leadership and government class and writing his memoirs. “I’m thinking about it,” he said. In addition to a potential memoir, the book may also deal with policy. Daley’s term will end on May 16, when the new mayor will be sworn in.

Jimmy John Liautaud, the founder of Jimmy John’s, is contemplating moving his headquarters out of Illinois, according to News-Gazette.com. Illinois’ recently passed tax hike angered Liautaud, and he told The News-Gazette he has applied for residency in Florida and will recommend the company move its headquarters there.

“I’m not a greedy American pig,” Liautaud said. “I’m a hard-working, bread-baking, meat-slicing delivery guy who happens to be immensely successful.”

No longer 2nd city

Cubs honor Santo

The 2010 Urban Mobility Report, released on Jan. 20, puts Chicago in the top spot— tied with Washington, D.C.—for time drivers spend behind the wheel. According to HuffingtonPost.com, the report, done by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, looks at 439 U.S. urban areas.The report shows Chicago and Northwest Indiana drivers wasted an additional 70 hours in traffic and an average of $1,738 in gas costs. Overall, U.S. drivers wasted 3.9 billion gallons of fuel.

The Chicago Cubs will salute the late former commentator Ron Santo twice in the upcoming season, according to DailyHerald.com.The tribute will start during spring training when players will wear patches with the No. 10, Santo’s jersey number.

Santo will also be the fourth person to have a statue of himself erected outside Wrigley Field, 1060 W. Addison St. “We thought it only appropriate we make 2011 a year where we honor and commemorate Ron,” said Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.

OFF THE BLOTTER

1

Congress Parkway Harrison St

1

431 S. Clark St. Balbo Drive

Wabash Ave

Clark St Roosevelt Road

1720 S. State St.

4

1167 S. State

2 3

1826 S. Michigan

Compiled by Chronicle staff with information provided by the Chicago Police Department. Map courtesy of Google Earth.

Overexposure

On Jan. 18, a man was seen urinating in public at 431 S. Clark St. According to police reports, the suspect was “exposed” and urinating on a wall. After being taken into custody, a custodial search revealed one zipclose bag, which contained a crushed green plant substance suspected of being three grams of cannabis, valued at $6.The suspect was mirandized and later processed.

3

False alarm

According to police reports, officers responded to a burglary call at 1826 S. Michigan Ave. on Jan. 18, finding a man screaming for help upon their arrival. No suspects were found on the property, and the building was found to have no pry marks. Officers toured the area but observed no other disturbances within the gated community in which the victim lived.

2

Boyfriend’s break-in

According to police reports, on Jan. 18, a woman told officers she found the locks on the door of her home at 1720 S. State St. in a different position than she had left them.

Upon entering, she discovered several items had been taken, including two laptops, her social security card and $2,000. The victim told officers her ex-boyfriend was the one person who had keys to the house.

4

Bad trip

Officers responded to a robbery victim at the Roosevelt Red Line station, 1167 S. State St. The victim was traveling south when an unknown suspect boarded the train, sat down and asked, “What are you looking at?”

The suspect later told him to give up his money, and fearing for his life, the victim gave him $80.The suspect then ordered him to get off at the next stop.

46

THE CHRONICLE

I JANUARY 6, 2011

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ARIES (March 21–April 20) Younger relatives will be creative, expressive and mildly annoying this week. For many Aries, social banter and excited gossip is highlighted over the next four days. Group events are enjoyable but potentially draining. Plan private moments of relaxation, if possible. Thursday through Sunday powerful dreams and sudden insights may trigger serious romantic or family discussions. Loved ones need your reassurance: Plan unique events or quiet home activities.

TAURUS (April 21–May 20) Mental energy and emotional vitality will now improve.

Early this week some Taureans will end almost four weeks of low social interest or lagging confidence. Don’t look back. This is a powerful time for new friendships and creatively expressed ideas. Thursday through Sunday accents quick financial decisions, family discussions and new home plans. Someone close may now need to feel more secure or included. Renovations or unique social plans may be key issues. Stay alert.

SOLUTI SATURDAY

GEMINI (May 21–June 21) New friends or work mates may this week issue unrealistic demands. Overly familiar comments or inappropriate family invitations are accented. Stay balanced and ask for extra time. In the coming weeks, normal social relations will again be established. Thursday through Sunday accents minor financial decisions and new debts. Large purchases and revised spending habits should be carefully studied. Friends and relatives may offer subtle criticisms.

Remain determined.

CANCER (June 22–July 22) Private disagreements between friends may now be publicly debated. Before Wednesday expect minor moments of tension, mistrust or group confusion. At present, hidden anxieties or misunderstandings need to be acknowledged and resolved. Ask gently probing questions and all will be well.

Later this week a past business partner or employer may offer unique proposals or new contracts. Study documents for scheduling conflicts: Time management is now vital

FOR RELEASE JANUARY 2, 2011

THE 1/31/11TV CROSSWORD © 2011 The Mepham Group. Distributed by

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LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Workplace progress may be delayed this week. Key officials are now motivated to cancel important projects or reverse recent promises. Remain patient and expect no lingering effects. Do, however, watch for co-workers to offer private criticism. Wednesday through Saturday family discussions may quickly lead to vital home decisions. Financial plans, long-term expectations, living arrangements and large purchases may all be involved. Ask for detailed descriptions.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Emotional insights will this week be quietly translated into wisdom. Recent speculation concerning the motives of a friend or colleague may soon be proven accurate. Remain silent, however, and wait for public actions to provide the necessary evidence. After midweek a trusted friend or colleague may reveal an unexpected family problem or romantic decision. Pace yourself and wait for new information. In the coming weeks loved ones may ask for extra time or revised choices.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 23) Long-term lovers will now opt for creative sensuality and new forms of expression. Single Librans may this week encounter a rare or exotic attraction. Age-appropriate relationships or long-distance communications may be involved. Stay calm: your reaction will prove important. Later this week a recently shy or withdrawn co-worker may offer unusual or complex suggestions. Listen for meaningful clues: Unique ideas will soon bring greatly improved workplace relations.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24–Nov. 22) Business officials now demand completed documents and finalized applications. Before midweek carefully study all legal requirements and daily expectations. Corporate rules or financial regulations may soon include flawed ideas and controversial restrictions. Don’t avoid small tasks or complex requests: Team work will be closely studied. Later this week some Scorpios may encounter an unexpected romantic invitation or new romance. Take your time: Much is changing.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23–Dec. 21) Subtle romantic compliments should not be ignored this week. During the next eight days shy friends or potential lovers may gently express their emotional needs or social aspirations. Offer acceptance: Your advice will be appreciated. Tuesday through Friday highlights bold business decisions and fast workplace discussions. Colleagues and officials will demand extra dedication and obvious displays of loyalty. Don’t disappoint: New options will soon be announced.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22–Jan. 20) Social awareness will this week inspire positive lifestyle choices. Some Capricorns, especially those born between 1964 and 1978, may now experience improved physical and emotional health. Don’t hold back. New creative outlets will quickly provide meaningful rewards. After Wednesday, minor financial errors will demand prompt attention. Documents or written agreements may require complex negotiations. Remain determined: There’s much to be gained.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21–Feb. 19) Potential lovers may no longer avoid public flirtation or bold comments. At present emotional expectations may be high. Before midweek watch for passionate inquiries and sudden invitations. Friends, lovers and close colleagues will soon reveal their private thoughts and long-term plans: ask for detailed explanations. After Thursday younger co-workers and new employees may require extra instructions. Be prepared for lengthy discussions. Your support will be appreciated.

ACROSS 1 Farr or Foxx 6 “You __ Your Life”; Groucho Marx quiz show 9 “__ Lucy” 10 Picture 12 “America’s Next Top __” 13 “__ to the Bottom of the Sea” 14 “We’re off to __ the wizard...”

15 Role on “The King of Queens” 16 “That’s So __” 19 Poet __ St. Vincent Millay 23 Playwright __ Coward 24 Actress Patricia __ 25 Archie’s command to Edith 28 Series set in a Boston bar 30 Downey of “Touched by an Angel” 31 “Annie Get __ Gun” 32 Stitched joining 33 __ Lavin of “Alice” 34 Family restaurant chain 36 Actor __ Knight 39 Granny Smiths and McIntoshes 42 Lieutenant __ Van Buren; role on “Law & Order” Solution to Last Week’s Puzzle

44 “__ Anatomy” 45 Thin soup 46 “Hawaiian __”; Robert Conrad crime drama series 47 Panama or Suez 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 13 15 17 18 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 31 33 35

PISCES (Feb. 20–March 20) Five weeks of emotional power struggles or private tensions will now fade. This week romantic relationships are poised for dramatic expansion and redefined roles. Plan new events and creative encounters. Yesterday’s expectations will soon be forgotten. Later this week many Pisceans will experience a brief but intense phase of renewed business ambitions and new career goals. Listen to your inner voice: Positive gains and rewarding opportunities are possible. Stay actively involved.

37 38 39

(c) 2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

40 41 42 43

DOWN Belushi and Carrey __ vera; hand lotion ingredient Series for Ed O’Neill “__ Got a Secret” Snakelike fish Sheep’s cry “The __ and I”; film for Fred MacMurray & Claudette Colbert Golfer’s peg Debtor’s note Series about high school grads Actor Max __ Sydow __ Taco; fast food chain Large Internet serv. provider Pop music singer Bobby __ Billy __ Williams VP Rockefeller’s monogram Pacino and Roker Yrbk. section Foot digit “__ Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!”

Jailbird Paul Newman/Melvyn Douglas movie High-pitched bark “NCIS: __ Angeles” “__ Just Not That Into You”; Jennifer Aniston movie Blues singer __ James Arlene __ of “What’s My Line?”

“Ice __: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”; blockbuster animated film Snoop __-wee Herman Network for Diane Sawyer Gun rights org.

STAY IN I JANUARY 24, 2011 I THE CHRONICLE

Classical guitarist Oman Kaminsky in concert 1.26.11 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Sherwood Conservatory of Music 1312 S. Michigan Ave. (312) 369-6179 FREE Considered one of the most prominent guitarists of his generation, Oman Kaminsky received the National Youth Award for his artistic achievements. He obtained his bachelor’s degree with the highest honors at the “Escuela Superior de Música” in Mexico City, where he studied with guitarists Isabelle Villey and Juan Carlos Laguna.

Monday

47

01.24

“The Sound of Failure: Broadway Musical Flops and the People Involved” All day Columbia Library, South Campus Building 624 S. Michigan Ave., 1st floor Gavin.Rehfeldt@loop.colum.edu FREE “Fear into Fire: Reclaiming Black Male Identity through the Art of Tattooing” 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Arcade 618 S. Michigan Ave. Building, 2nd floor (312) 369-6643 FREE “Midwinter: Embrace the Darkness” 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Glass Curtain Gallery, 1104 Center 1104 S. Wabash Ave., 1st floor (312) 369-8177 FREE

Tuesday

01.25

Weeks of Welcome Noon – 1:30 p.m.

Quincy Wong Center for Artistic Expression Wabash Campus Building, 623 S. Wabash Ave., 1st floor (312) 369-7927 FREE

Wednesday

01.26

Music Student Convocation

“Alumni on 5: Physicality and Virtuality” 1.24.11 All day Columbia Library, South Campus Building 624 S. Michigan Ave., 5th floor (312) 369-7157 FREE

When After Comes Before: Phillip Chen and Thomas Vu opening reception 1.27.11 5 – 8 p.m.; lecture from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery 619 S. Wabash Ave. Building (312) 369-8686 FREE

“Physicality and Virtuality” takes a look at Columbia’s alumni work that explores the differences and overlap between the physical and virtual in his or her art practices.

Curated by Anchor Graphics and drawing from personal experiences, memories and written history, Phillip Chen and Thomas Vu’s work incorporates long departed and surviving traditions, beliefs, objects and landscapes, positioning all firmly within a contemporary context.

Noon – 1 p.m.

Music Center 1014 S. Michigan Ave. (312) 369-6179 FREE “Video Playlist: Do-overs and New Beginnings” screening and reception 6 – 8 p.m.

Museum of Contemporary Photography Alexandroff Campus Center, 600 S. Michigan Ave. (312) 663-5554 FREE ECE Faculty to Present at CAEYC Opening Minds Conference Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, 2233 S. Martin Luther King Drive 4 – 5:30 p.m.

(312) 427-5399 Call in to register and for price details

Thursday

01.27

Thomas Walker senior recital 7 – 8 p.m.

Music Center 1014 S. Michigan Ave. (312) 369-6179 FREE

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film

marketing

Millennium Park ice skating NOON – 8 p.m. 1.24.11 // McCormick Tribune Ice Rink at Millennium Park 55 N. Michigan Ave. Love to ice skate but don’t know where to go? Warm up with a few rounds on the outdoor rink at Millennium Park’s McCormick Tribune Ice Rink. Wear your hats, gloves, scarves and coats, and please make sure to go bundled up.

(312) 742-1168 FREE; $10 skate rental

Spain vs. France wine tasting 6 – 8 p.m. 1.25.11 // Cafe Ba Ba Reeba 2024 N. Halsted St. Sample 25 wines from Spain and France as Chef Tim Cottini of Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and Chef Justin Dumcum of Mon Ami Gabi prepare special courses for a competition between the two culinary traditions.

Cottini’s Spanish offering is Winter Paella with beef short ribs, chorizo sausage, chicken, garbanzo beans and warm butternut squash, while Dumcum’s French dish is an “un-traditional” Croque Monsieur Dijon.

(773) 935-5000 $25; 21+

Monday

1.24

Wednesday

1.26

Mayoral massages

Tequila dinner

8 a.m. – 10 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

Massage Envy

Salud Tequila Lounge

345 E. Ohio St.

1471 N. Milwaukee Ave.

(312) 222-0808

(773) 276-7582

$49–$98

$45; RSVP required; 21+

“Funk It Up About Nothin’”

7:30 p.m. 1.27.11 // Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave. An adaptation of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” is rapped to the rhythm of six emcees and a live deejay. The show won the Best Musical Production Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival after its 2008 world premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The show is not recommended for kids under 14.

$25–$30

(312) 595-5600

Friday

Saturday

1.28

Awesome ’80s Aspen ski Heaven and Hell party

lodge party

8 p.m.

9 p.m. – 3 a.m.

Latin dancing 101

The Fifty/50

Faith & Whiskey

“The Sandbox”

6:30 – 8 p.m.

2047 W. Division St.

1365 W. Fullerton Ave.

8 p.m.

Carnivale

(773) 489-5050

(773) 248-9119

The Playground Theater

702 W. Fulton Market

FREE; 21+

FREE; 21+

3209 N. Halsted St.

(312) 850-5005

(773) 871-3793

$25; RSVP required

Pajammy-Jam brunch

$5; 21+

Tuesday

1.25

“Chicago A.D. (After Daley)” 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

“The Magic Parlour”

8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

“In One Ear” poetry night

10:30 p.m.

Nana

10 p.m.

Chopin Theatre

3267 S. Halsted St.

Heartland Cafe

1543 W. Division St.

(312) 929-2486

7000 N. Glenwood Ave.

(773) 278-1500

FREE

(773) 465-8005

$25

$3

Thursday

Jackson Junge Gallery

1.29

1.27

Sunday

“Boobs and Goombas: A Super

1.30

Mario Burlesque” 11 p.m.

“9 to 5: The Musical”

(773) 227-7900

“CARMILLA”

Gorilla Tango Theatre

2 p.m.

FREE

Chicago DCA Storefront Theater

1919 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Bank of America Theatre

66 E. Randolph St.

(773) 598-4549

18 W. Monroe St.

Kinky Comedy Tuesdays

(312) 742-8497

$15

(800) 775-2000

9 p.m.

$20; $10 for students with valid ID

1389 N. Milwaukee Ave.

$32–$95

Old Town Pub 1339 N. Wells St.

Jazzercise

(312) 266-6789

6 a.m.

FREE; 21+

Evanston Arts Depot 600 Main St., Evanston, Ill. (954) 554-0336 $15; monthly packages available

music fitness

AccuWeather.com Seven-day forecast for Chicago

dance

exhibit

performance

speaker

food

night life

liturature

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2011

MONDAY

MON. NIGHT

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Snow or flurries possible

Areas of low clouds

Partly sunny and cold

Snow or flurries possible

Snow showers possible

Mostly cloudy and cold

Low clouds

Frigid with snow

High 23

Low 14

High 25 Low 19

High 29 Low 16

High 24 Low 9

High 21 Low 20

High 27 Low 8

High 19 Low 5